Stanford v Kentucky was a United States Supreme court case that dealt with the imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were at least sixteen years old at the time the crime was committed. Stanford was 17 years old at the time he committed murder in Kentucky. On January 17, 1981, Stanford and an accomplice repeatedly raped and sodomized twenty year old Barpel Poore during and after their robbery at the gas station Poore worked at. Hearings were held to decide on whether Stanford’s case should be held in Juvenile court or adult. The juvenile court did make the decision to transfer his case, therefore; Stanford would be trialed as an adult under a state statute permitting such action as to offenders who are either charged with a class A felony, capital crime or anyone over the age of sixteen and charged with a felony.
CRJ 150 McCleskey v. Kemp The case began with Warren McCleskey, an African-American man who was sentenced to death in 1978 for killing a white police officer during the robbery of a Georgia furniture store. McCleskey appealed his conviction and sentence, relying on the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of Equal Protection to argue that the death penalty in Georgia was administered in a racially discriminatory -- and therefore unconstitutional--manner. Jack Boger, then director of LDF’s Capital Punishment Project, argued the case before the Supreme Court on Mr. McCleskey’s behalf. Joining him on the briefs were Julius Chambers, James Nabrit III, Anthony G. Amsterdam, Deval Patrick, Robert Stroup, Vivian Berger, and Timothy Ford. In support of McCleskey’s argument, LDF presented the United States Supreme Court with strong statistical evidence showing that race played a pivotal role in the Georgia capital punishment system.
In 1976, after the arrival of lethal injection and additional laws to protect the innocent, the Supreme Court reversed its decision and reinstated the death penalty. Many of the same arguments that were used to abolish the death penalty are still being asserted today. People favor capital punishment for numerous reasons. First, capital punishment is believed to deter crime. Criminals may think twice before committing crimes, knowing that their actions could cost them their lives.
Victimology and Alternatives to the Traditional Criminal Justice System Criminological Theories CJA 540 Christopher Marco University of Phoenix June 8, 2009 Victimology and Alternatives to the Traditional Criminal Justice System Over the years there has been more emphasis being placed on victim’s rights. Victims have become the focus more after a crime has been committed against them and they try to bring their lives back to order. In the past it had always been catch the offender, have a trial and put them in prison. Recent years have brought to light a new form of justice for the victim and aiding in bringing them a new kind of justice after being victimized. There are numerous forms of justice that can be sought for the victim.
In New York City, an average of seven Latin Americans were killed a year between 1986 to 1989 but, in 1990, that number increased greatly. In that year, twenty three Latin Americans were killed by police gunfire. When asked how he felt about racism being involved in police brutality, Yussuf Naimkly of the University of Regina Commented: “Excessive police force against blacks has always been tolerated, because as a formally enslaved minority African Americans are trapped in a cultural context specifically designed to inhibit their development and thus minimize their threat to white hegemony”. Another shocking incident of police brutality occurred in Reynoldsberg Ohio. A group of offices named themselves “S.N.A.T” squad.
In this paper, I will discuss the effect that capital punishment has on deterring criminal activity. Capital punishment is the execution of criminals by the state, for committing crimes, regarded so terrible, that this type of punishment is the only acceptable punishment for the crime committers. For decades now, there has been an ongoing debate over the death penalty in America. The chief argument in favor of death sentences is the fact that it can be used as a deterrent. Deterrence is the idea that executing the murderers will decrease the rates of homicide by discouraging future murderers.
“Why do we kill people, who kill people, to show that killing people is wrong”. Fair enough as it might seem, but what is the ground for the opposition to the death penalty? It is asserted that death penalty is unjust, Tax Payer waste too much money, and it is a breech of biblical principles in our society. In the U.S. in 2010, 129 people on death row have been released with proof that they were wrongfully convicted.DNA, available have justify most of these convictions. I can’t guarantee we won’t execute innocent people.
To do wrong and commit crime is a choice of the criminal. Criminals have derived of an enormous list of excuses explaining why they commit crimes. The classical direction to crime discipline policies deals with direct interference techniques. Police force within this course; choose a more hostile approach to toward criminal offenses (Gonzalez, 2007). Nonetheless, without considering the penalties of their actions criminals keep on commit crimes at an alarming rate.
Of course society also plays a role in the limiting of judicial discretion. The judges must consider the perspectives on crime by society and how people will react to particular punishments when making the final judgment. Judges consider all factors which limit their discretion while deciding sentences appropriate for crimes. Prosecutors represent society’s case against criminals, because of this the people play a major role in punishing criminals. Legislatures consider societal views on certain serious crimes in the creating of criminal statutes.
Unit 9: Final Project Joe Sloppner CJ140: Introduction to Constitutional Law Instructor: Irene H. Gainer, R.N., J.D. June 17, 2009 In the case Roper v. Simmons (03-633) 543 U.S. 551 (2005), is where a 17 year old, Simmons had planned and committed capital murder. After turning 18 years old, he then was tried and convicted with and imposed sentenced to death (Findlaw, 2009). Simmons filed a petition for state post conviction relief saying that under the Eighth Amendment, it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute juveniles. Under the Fourteenth Amendment, it prohibits the execution of mentally retarded people.