This six week’s theme is Supreme Court court cases. Thirty One out of Fifty states have capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty. California is a state that allows the death penalty.
The Supreme Court allowed the execution of an inmate, who can’t remember the 1985 murder that sent him to death row. The court decision was unanimous and there were no noted dissents. The inmate, Vernon Maddison was sentenced for killing Julius Schlute who was a police officer responding to a domestic call. Vernon shot him twice in the back of the head. As the execution came closer and closer, Mr. Madison asked the court to cancel his death sentence. He wanted it to be canceled because he said he could not remember what he had done. A psychologist hired by Madison’s lawyers agreed that he understood what he was accused of, and how the state planned to punish him. Mr. Maddison said he understood his crime was wrong and he should be punished, but he just could not remember what he did and for this reason he thought he should not be executed. The court said “He is legally blind.His speech is
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slurred. He cannot walk by himself. He is incontinent.” Mr. Madison suffered from two strokes because of those illnesses. The court, however, still voted to allow his execution, because he was guilty of murder despite him having disabilities. The death penalty is something assigned to a man or a woman who has committed a serious crime.
As of 1977 the death penalty in California was done by lethal injection or gas. However, it hasn’t always been done this way. Until 1942 capital punishment was done by hanging. After they had gotten rid of hanging they moved onto the lethal gas. The first gas chamber was installed in 1938 in the San Quentin State prison. On December 2, 1938 the first inmate was killed in the gas chamber. In 1976 California Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty because it used cruel and unusual punishment which violates the eighth amendment. In 1977 the death penalty was reinstated by the state legislature. The death penalty is only assigned for first degree murder under certain circumstances. On January 19, 1993 California started allowing lethal injection as an option for inmates on death
row. I think that the court made the correct decision by punishing him. He still did the crime , just because he forgot it does not mean that it didn't happen. The court gave him a fair punishment, so that follows the Eighth Amendment. There wasn't much that could change the way the court saw this. In my opinion, there is no way that anyone should ever be able to get away with murder.
The jurors took a vote and saw the ratio at eleven for guilty and only one for not guilty. When they repeatedly attacked his point of view, his starting defense was that the boy was innocent until proven guilty, not the opposite as the others had seen it. After Henry Fonda instilled doubt in the mind of another juror, the two worked together to weaken the barriers of hatred and prejudice that prevented them from seeing the truth. The jurors changed their minds one at a time until the ratio stood again at eleven to one, this time in favor of acquittal. At this point, the jurors who believed the defendant was not guilty worked together to prove to the one opposing man that justice would only be found if they returned a verdict of not guilty. They proved this man wrong by using his personal experiences in life to draw him into a series of deadly contradictions.
Even before the jury sits to take an initial vote, the third man has found something to complain about. Describing “the way these lawyers can talk, and talk and talk, even when the case is as obvious as this” one was. Then, without discussing any of the facts presented in court, three immediately voiced his opinion that the boy is guilty. It is like this with juror number three quite often, jumping to conclusions without any kind of proof. When the idea that the murder weapon, a unique switchblade knife, is not the only one of its kind, three expresses “[that] it’s not possible!” Juror eight, on the other hand, is a man who takes a much more patient approach to the task of dictating which path the defendant's life takes. The actions of juror three are antagonistic to juror eight as he tries people to take time and look at the evidence. During any discussion, juror number three sided with those who shared his opinion and was put off by anyone who sided with “this golden-voiced little preacher over here,” juror eight. His superior attitude was an influence on his ability to admit when the jury’s argument was weak. Even when a fellow juror had provided a reasonable doubt for evidence to implicate the young defendant, three was the last one to let the argument go. Ironically, the play ends with a 180 turn from where it began; with juror three
It is the 1940's, in a small Cajun community, there is a trial for the murder of a white liquor store attendant. The defense is Jefferson, a poorly educated black man. His appointed attorney is closing his argument in an attempt to spare his client the death penalty. His attorney states, "Gentlemen of the jury, be merciful. For God's sake, be merciful. He is innocent of all charges brought against him. But let us say he was not. Let us for a moment say he was not. What justice would there be to take this life? Justice, gentlemen? Why, I would just as soon put a hog in the electric chair as this." (p. 8)
Capital Punishment in the state of California represents the ideals of justice in no way which can justify the great financial and legal burden required to maintain a system that has not actually put any person to death since 2006. It is somewhat of a mystery why California voters allow the process to continue despite having opportunities on fairly recent ballots to discontinue the practice. The current implementation of capital punishment in the state of California spends large amounts of money on the many legal proceedings and processes, while carrying out so few executions of death row prisoners that some would label California as a “De-facto prohibition” state regarding it's practices of capital punishment. Capital Punishment in California fails miserably to represent justice for anyone, and should be abolished.
“A Death in Texas” by Steve Earle is the true-life story of a friendship that occurred over ten
Different forms of the death penalty are more humane than others. In the 1920's people decided that lethal gas, or the gas chamber, was more humane than death by electrocution. Nevada was the first state to adopt the gas chamber as their form of execution. The "Humane Death Bill" was passed abolishing all other forms of execution (Hanging or firing squad were the only other two forms of execution at that time) in the state of Nevada, this bill was signed by the governor on March 28, 1921.
Yet with the help of one aged yet wise and optimistic man he speaks his opinion, one that starts to not change however open the minds of the other eleven men on the jury. By doing this the man puts out a visual picture by verbally expressing the facts discussed during the trial, he uses props from the room and other items the he himself brought with him during the course of the trial. Once expressed the gentleman essentially demonstrate that perhaps this young man on trial May or may not be guilty. Which goes to show the lack of research, and misused information that was used in the benefit of the prosecution. For example when a certain factor was brought upon the trail; that being timing, whether or not it took the neighbor 15 seconds to run from his chair all the way to the door. By proving this right or wrong this man Juror #4 put on a demonstration, but first he made sure his notes were correct with the other 11 jurors. After it was
Capital punishment results in the victims family gaining a greater sense of security, making sure the criminal is able to be punished to the highest degree for his crime, and honoring retribution. The issue of capital punishment has created a division
Is the death penalty fair? Is it humane? Does it deter crime? The answers to these questions vary depending on who answers them. The issue of capital punishment raises many debates. These same questions troubled Americans just as much in the day of the Salem witch trials as now in the say of Timothy McVeigh. During the time of the Salem witchcraft trials they had the same problem as present society faces. Twenty innocent people had been sentenced to death. It was too late to reverse the decision and the jurors admitted to their mistake. The execution of innocent people is still a major concern for American citizens today.
It's dark and cold, the fortress-like building has cinderblock walls, and death lurks around the perimeter. A man will die tonight. Under the blue sky, small black birds gather outside the fence that surrounds the building to flaunt their freedom. There is a gothic feel to the scene, as though you have stepped into a horror movie.
Capital punishment is a form of taking someone 's life in order to repay for the crime that they have committed. Almost all capital punishment sentences in the United States of America have been imposed for homicide since the 1970 's. Ever since the reinstatement after 38 years of being banned, there has been intense debate among Americans regarding the constitutionality of capital punishment. Critics say that executions are violations of the “cruel and unusual punishment” provision of the Eighth Amendment. Some capital punishment cases require a separate penalty trial to be made, at which time the jury reviews if there is the need for capital punishment. In 1982, the first lethal injection execution was performed in Texas. Some other common methods of execution used are electrocution, a firing squad, and lethal gas. In recent years, the US Supreme Court has made it more difficult for death row prisoners to file appeals. Nearly 75 percent of Americans support the death sentence as an acceptable form of punishment. The other fourth have condemned it. Some major disagreements between supporters and non-supporters include issues of deterrence,
The death penalty is a controversial topic in the United States today and has been for a number of years. The death penalty is currently legal in 38 states and two federal jurisdictions (Winters 97). The death penalty statutes were overturned and then reinstated in the United States during the 1970's due to questions concerning its fairness (Flanders 50). The death penalty began to be reinstated slowly, but the rate of executions has increased during the 1990's (Winters103-107). There are a number of arguments in favor of the death penalty. Many death penalty proponents feel that the death penalty reduces crime because it deters people from committing murder if they know that they will receive the death penalty if they are caught. Others in favor of the death penalty feel that even if it doesn't deter others from committing crimes, it will eliminate repeat offenders.
He attempts to convince his readers that he is well informed of the death penalty by referring to different governors and what they have been doing in regards to the death penalty. He states, “California is at a standstill while a federal appeals court weighs the question of whether long delays and infrequent executions render the penalty unconstitutional”, giving the impression that states are beginning to wonder if capital punishment is the right form of punishment to administer. By including well known people in his piece, Von Drehle tries to provide certainty that he is well informed of his topic. However, despite his successful use of allusions to help strengthen his piece, Von Drehle makes many assumptions throughout his article. He assumes that his audience knows of all of the death row prisoners that he mentioned in his piece when in actuality, not many may truly know of these men. Von Drehle should have gone a little more into detail in his reference of these prisoners in order for him to fully get his claim
The death penalty should be a loud in California due to the fact of over population in our prisons and some criminals don’t deserve the second chance. Many people think the death penalty is inhumane and killing a human being off is against human morals. However the death penalty doesn’t have to be for petty crimes like stealing or vandalism, the death penalty should be for heinous crimes such as murder, rape, or any other crime that involves killing any other human being. For this they have lost their right to be given a second chance. States such as Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Missouri, Ohio, and Arizona regularly execute convicted murderers. These states feel it is necessary to use the death penalty against people who convicted
Capital Punishment is defined as the legal infliction of the death penalty. The death penalty is corporal punishment in its most severe form and is used instead of life long imprisonment. Putting people to death that have committed extremely terrible crimes is an ancient practice, but it has become a very controversial issue in today's society. Capital punishment has been used for centuries, even the Bible contains over thirty stories or incidents about a person put to death for a crime they committed. Public executions stopped after 1936. The death penalty has been inflicted in many different ways. Today in the United States, there are five ways that the death penalty is performed. These criminals are put to death by a lethal injection, electrocution, lynching, a firing squad, or the gas chamber. These punishments are much less severe than the forms of execution in the past. In the past, people were executed by crucifixion, boiling in oil, drawing and quartering, impalement, beheading, burning alive, crushing, tearing, stoning, and even drowning. The methods used today compared to those of history are not meant for torture but instead for punishment for heinous crimes and to rid the earth of these dangerous people. The majority of America supports the death penalty.