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“The death penalty is popular among politicians and the public in response to the escalating fear of violence. However, capital punishment actually makes the fight against crime more difficult. Executions waste valuable resources that could be applied to more promising efforts to protect the public. Additionally, innocent people are sometimes executed and the brutalizing effect executions have on society may result in more murders. For these reasons, the death penalty should be opposed.” (Morgenthau 14) Although capital punishment may seem like the perfect deterrent it does not lower the crime rate. According to FBI data, states that have abolished the death penalty have homicide rates consistent with or below the national rate.(Diehm) When a criminal is sentenced to the death penalty they are giving the option of Habeas corpus. Appeals of Habeas Corpus currently average nine years and last as long as 17 years, which preludes the death penalty from being an effective deterrent. (Morgenthau 17). The Office of the State Public Defender and the Habeas Corpus Resource Center spend a tot...
The book raises the importance of, and questions, the writ of habeas corpus. Carter used a writ of habeas corpus to get a federal trial. Many question the legality of Carter going into federal jurisdiction, when his case should have been heard before the Supreme Court of New Jersey. It was a gamble, but the federal judge gave fair justice to Carter and Artis. The State of New Jersey appealed the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court, which upheld the District Court’s ruling.
Each year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. From 1976 to 1995 there were a total of 314 people put to death in the US 179 of them were put to death using lethal injection, 123 were put to death using electrocution, 9 were put to death in a gas chamber, 2 were hanged, and 1 was put to death using the firing squad. The death penalty is the harshest form of punishment enforced in the United Sates today. Once a jury has convicted a criminal, they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees then the criminal will face some form of execution, lethal injection is the most common form used today. There was a period from 1972 to 1976 that capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Their reason for this decision was that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment. The decision was reversed when new methods of execution were introduced. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as there are people. In our project, both sides have been presented and argued fully.
Habeas Corpus is a law, that throughout history, protected the rights of people to have a fair trial in court. “Habeas Corpus has since the earliest times been employed to order the appearance of a person who is in custody to be brought before a court” (Habeas Corpus Packet). This “ancient common law” then became adopted by the English Representative Democracy, protecting the citizens’ right to a fair trial. “The passage of hundreds of years time has permitted it to evolve into a right initiated by a person restrained, or someone acting rather than by the King or his courts” (Habeas Corpus). The “law of the land”, as it is known, exemplifies why the government of England surpasses that of Absolutism, because the citizens have protection from hidden laws of the king. Arbitrary can be defined as a choice of someone without having reason. Habeas Corpus protects against these decisions, as well as the representation of the citizens through Parliament, as described by John Locke.
Facts: Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in Florida state court with a felony: for illegally entering a pool hall with the intention of committing a misdemeanor. When Gideon arrived in court he requested an attorney as he could not afford one at that time. However, in accordance with Florida state law at the time the court told Mr. Gideon that they were unable to appoint an attorney for him as the case was not for a capital offense. Mr. Gideon was found guilty at trial and was sent to five years in prison. Gideon petitioned the Florida State Supreme court habeas corpus in which he argued that he Bay County court's decision violated his constitutional right to be represented a lawyer at trial. The Florida State Supreme Court denied relief. Reasoning that the Supreme Court of the United States created
This paper will examine the pros and cons of the death penalty. Is it a deterrent or is that a myth. Does it give the family of the victim peace or does it cause them to suffer waiting for appeal after appeal. What are the forms of execution and any evidence of them being cruel and usual punishment. Is the death penalty fair if there are glaring, disparities in sentencing depending on geographic location and the color of the offender and victim’s skin?
Capital punishment is a topic constantly debated because of moral principles and effects on society. Many would argue that the possibility of death prevents crime. Others would argue that execution is unjust. Flamehorse’s article, "5 Arguments For and Against the Death Penalty,” provides common reasons held by society with a short analysis. Other articles such as“4 Out Of 5 Texas Dentists Advocate The Death Penalty,” produced by TheOnion, promotes capital punishment through a satirical metaphor. The reasons may be factual or morally based because society operates on these principles. Once the reasons are evaluated, it may be possible to develop a stance throughout the paper. This will contribute to various hypothetical examples and the course of action to handle said example. However, individual interpretation is subjective meaning that everyone has a different idea in mind.
When someone is legally convicted of a capital crime, it is possible for their punishment to be execution. The Death Penalty has been a controversial topic for many years. Some believe the act of punishing a criminal by execution is completely inhumane, while others believe it is a necessary practice needed to keep our society safe. In this annotated bibliography, there are six articles that each argue on whether or not the death penalty should be illegalized. Some authors argue that the death penalty should be illegal because it does not act as a deterrent, and it negatively effects the victim’s families. Other scholar’s state that the death penalty should stay legalized because there is an overcrowding in prisons and it saves innocent’s lives. Whether or not the death penalty should be
Public will feel safe knowing the law is doing justice. Capital punishment, otherwise known as the death penalty, has been effective tool in our country’s justice system since its inception. When an inmate is given this, the harshest sentence avail...
Second, the death penalty does in fact deter crime. New York, 1990, the murder rate was up to about 2,650 people, every year it has dropped, in 2009 there were only 778 murders.
The average American thinks would think that it’s simpler and cheaper to kill a convicted person rather than pay millions of tax dollars to keep the convict in jail for a life term. However, they are very wrong. One reason why the death penalty should be abolished is because of its expensive costs. In reality, the death penalty is two to five times more expensive than keeping a convict in prison for life. This expensive price tag has to do with the endless appeals and additional required procedures that drag the process out. Since a convict’s life is on the line, the chance of making the mistake of killing the wrong person has to be very slim to none. Therefore, more than one trial or appeal is done to make sure this is the exact person that will be punished for the crime by death. Sometimes, the person found guilty sits on death row 15-20 years before they are officially put to death. Not only are taxpayers paying to keep the convicted person in prison, but they are also paying for the judges, attorneys, court reporters, clerks, and court facilities. Do we Americans really have that many resources to waste?
Special attention will be given to the topics of deterrence, the families of the victims, and the increased population that has been occurring within our prisons. Any possible objections will also be assessed, including criticism regarding the monetary value of the use of the death penalty and opposition to this practice due to its characteristics, which some identify as hypocritical and inhumane. My goal in arguing for the moral justifiability of capital punishment is not to use this practice extensively, but rather to reduce the use to a minimum and use it only when necessary. Above all else, capital punishment should be morally justified in extreme situations because it has a deterrent effect. Many criminals seem to be threatened more by the thought of death rather than a long-term prison sentence.
The opinions brought upon us stating that the death penalty is a very strong deterrent against crime holds allot of water. It is a proven statistical fact that states that have reinstated and now enforce the death penalty show no difference in their crime and murder rate. In some cases, states that do impose the death penalty have a higher crime rate than the states that do not impose this “disciplinary” action. “Whosoever shed man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed” (Genesis 9:6).
Great effort has been made in our criminal justice system in pretrial, trial, appeals, writ and clemency procedures to minimize the chance of and innocent person being convicted and sentenced to death. Since 1973, legal protections have been so great that 37 percent of all death row cases have been overturned for due process reasons or commuted. Inmates are six times more likely to get off death row by appeals than by execution.
In Duval County, Florida during 2013, prosecutors were seeking the death penalty for the murder of Shelby Farah. However, Shelby’s mom, Darlene Farah, expressed her opinion regarding the hardships of the death penalty process. "I do not want my family to go through the years of trials and appeals that come with death-penalty cases." Instead, she wants her family to be able to, "celebrate [Shelby's] life, honor her memory and begin the lengthy healing process." (New Voices, n.d.) A topic of constant debate is the length and expenses attributed to the death row process. The appeal process in death penalty cases takes enormous amount of time to complete. Typically, a case may take between 6 to 10 years, but there are always exceptions (Death Penalty
Because of this law that should be implemented, murderers or killers are affrighted to commit sin against people. “If we have death penalty and a murderer dies instantly, the homicide rate would decrease because no one likes to die” (Sarmiento, 2008). If the death penalty exists, imagine it, we will live in a just society. It is said that every minute, there is a chance that an innocent man could get murdered. We must put a stop to it.