Vincent Flores Phil102 Mon/Wed 11-12:20 The Death Penalty The state of California is having difficulty deciding whether or not to keep the death penalty. Currently there are 714 people on death row; yet, California has only executed 13 people since 1976.California officials cannot deliver what they are sentencing considering the number of people on death row in comparison to how many death sentences are made each year. Last year, 78 death sentences were given by California's court systems compared to the 315 that were given in 1996, Dieter explained. For instance, The Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgeway, was sentenced to California's death row for murdering 48 women and throwing their bodies into the Green River. The Author supports their position by stating, “What we refuse to accept is the severity of the crimes the individuals on death row have committed.
Even though the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty in certain cases many states tried to re-write their death penalty laws to bypass the court’s ruling. In 2008, a similar case was presented to the Supreme Court. Kennedy v. Louisiana was a case in which Kennedy was convicted of aggravated rape of his eight year old step daughter. A Louisiana statute allowed the upgrade to the death penalty for the aggravate rape of an individual under twelve.
Lethal Injection For thousands of years, many governments have punished people convicted of certain crimes by putting them to death, using various means to accomplish this. The death penalty is considered by many to be the ultimate form of punishment for those who have committed society's most heinous crimes, including rape and murder. As times have changed, so have the methods of execution. The idea of someone being put to death is not a pleasant one. About 74 of the world's countries and 38 American states have a death penalty (although the vast majority of executions in 2004 took place in China, Iran, Vietnam and the United States), so this unpleasant topic is bound to come up.
This particular crime consists of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, and arson. “Following common law tradition, people who are convicted of felonies today usually lose certain privileges” (Schmalleger 120-121). Felons lose the right to vote or become an elector; they cannot hold public office or run for office. Felons can have these rights restored in some cases. A felon is also not allowed to serve on a jury for seven years or while they are a defendant in a pending felony case.
He is calling out Governors, and urging viewers of his program The Factor to write their state representatives and push Jessica’s Law. On a recent interview on The Factor with Jesse Watters, Colorado Speaker of the House, Mark Ferrandino strongly opposed Jessica’s Law. He argued saying Colorado has “strict enough” laws concerning child sexual abuse. Just to illustrate how “strong” Colorado’s laws are, here is an example of their pathetic judicial system: a man in Colorado who raped ten children at a daycare center was sentenced to a laughable two years in prison (O’Reilly). Colorado is one of the only states in the Union that does not support Jessica’s Law, or the safety of children.
For killing another human, without suffering from any mental condition, a person would be charged with murder depending on the circumstances of the crime. If convicted, that person would face a minimum of twenty-five years in prison without the chance of parole. On the other hand, a mother charged with killing her child under the age of one may find herself in prison for a mere five years if convicted. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, the maximum sentence possible for a crime of infanticide is five years. There is no minimum sentence.
The rate of injuries to suspects fell 30 percent after Tasers were introduced, while the rate of officer injuries fell by a quarter in Austin (The Post and Courier, 2009). Stun guns use an electromagnetic pulse to override a person’s nervous system, temporarily disabling a suspect and giving officers a brief window to cuff and control him (The Post and Courier, 2009). Deputies are trained to use their tasers only when necessary, such as when a suspect resists arrest, threatens an officer or tries to escape (The Post and Courier, 2009). Civil rights groups have questioned the frequency of taser use and the safety of the devices (The Post and Courier, 2009). Such questions gained traction when a man with a history of mental impairment died after being stunned multiple times with a taser by police (The Post and Courier, 2009).
As of March second 2010 a third option called 1 drug protocol was introduced and adopted as an option for the death sentence in Washington State. 1 drug protocol was introduced as a direct result of a failed lethal injection attempt during the execution of Romell broom. Lethal injection used to be made up of a three drug cocktail but when that deadly cocktail failed a new easier drug, 1 drug was introduced in its place. Am I in favor? A person can be sentenced to death in Washington State.
The eighth amendment to the United States Constitution located in the Bill of Rights specifies the prohibition of excessive bail as well as cruel and unusual punishment. However, what punishments are considered to be “cruel and unusual”? Courts have ruled that the means of penalty that are vicious, disgraceful, or shocking to the social morality may fall under this clause. So why is it that the death penalty continues to be utilized in several different states throughout the US? Does death not descent under the category of “cruel and unusual”?
The age of criminal responsibility as dropped in England and Wales following the James Bulger case where a three year old child was brutally killed by two ten year old children. The age was reduced from 14 to 10 here. Are there variations in crimes due to culture or history? Some actions are criminal in one culture but not in others. In Egypt and Sudan, female circumcision is legal, in England and many other countries it is prohibited.