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.
Life in Prison vs. the Death Penalty Life in Prison vs. the Death Penalty The start of legal guidelines for society and prison systems dates back to as early as the development of the written language, roughly 1740 BC. The theory of the modern prison system came from London, as did the practice of putting criminals to death. The first recorded American execution was that of Captain George Kendall, for spying, in Virginia 1608 (McFeely, n.d.). In the 1800’s, over two hundred crimes were punishable by death. Although our country’s legal system has evolved greatly since that time, there continues to be great debate about the issues surrounding life in prison versus the death penalty.
The Death Penalty Argument Kenya Jones English Composition 100 Professor Savicky 03 June 2012 Kenya Jones Professor Savicky English Comp 100 03 June 2012 The Death Penalty Argument America’s influence on the use of the death penalty came from Britain. The first American settlers brought this practice with them to America. The laws for capital punishment has always varied vary from state to state, however, the usual method to carry out the executions started out as hangings in the early first centuries in Britain. Death sentences have also been carried out by other means such as crucifixion, beating to death, burning alive, firing squads, electrocution, and lethal injection. All of these methods can be considered cruel and unusual punishment.
Devon Williams September, 2013 2013FA-HIST-1301-81008 Was John Brown A Hero or A Murderer? John Brown was a radical American abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of the slavery system and orchestrated the infamous (and unsuccessful) 1859 raid on Harper’s Ferry federal arsenal which resulted in his capture and sentencing to death by hanging that same year. Historians agree that Brown’s actions greatly contributed to the start of the civil war and his raid further revealed the division between the North and South. He is often recognized as “America’s first domestic Terrorist”. Brown was born in 1800 in Torrington, Connecticut to an extremely religious and abolitionist family where he first began forming his anti-slavery views.
Based on the testimony of James McParlan, he was convicted along with four others of the shooting death of Thomas Sanger and William Uren. Hung on June 21, 1877 in Pottsville. Buried in Pottsville, PA. [1] Since the dawning of the industrial revolution, producing the stratification of socioeconomic status into a competitive class hierarchy never before seen, conflict theorists have appeared to define the unjust. From William Blake’s poetry to Karl Marx’ manifestos, from Bethlehem steel strikes to the current Labor Party, from Fidel Castro to the Mexican Zapatista movement, from Lenin to Mao Tse Tung, from the Molly Maguires to Jimmy Hoffa, the desire to upgrade the conditions of the working class have had a continual role in justifying violence, providing an equilibrium to keep capital interests in check, motivated whole countries to gain newly instituted political leaders and formats of rule, even in offering some form of purpose for, identity with, and release of violent rage inside the tribal nature of humans in a world of disintegrating, or disintegrated, tribes. The question of the new millennium might very well be whether or not humans can live without enemies.
Capital punishment for murder is based on the idea: that if a person kills someone; he must pay with his own life. So, death penalty is usually imposed because of some type of gross misconduct. The first death penalty laws were established in Eighteenth Century B.C. Something new appear in the world has its own reason. Maybe the new law can make contribution to the society.
RUNNING HEAD: BECARRIA 1 Cesare Beccaria Running Head: Becarria 2 Could you imagine committing a crime, or maybe even being wrongly accused of committing a crime, and Judges or Magistrates punishing you however they see fit that day? This is exactly what happened in Europe in the eighteenth century, until a man named Cesare Becarria sent his thoughts out for all the people to read. Cesare was just an ordinary man who could not even stay focused on one subject to study, and later ended his studies with law. Cesare made a lasting impact on the Justice System by writing a famous essay on penal reform, making a devastating attack on the prevailing systems, and stated his idea on how the system should work. Cesare changed the way people saw crime and punishment.
The colonist acted numerous times to protest against the taxes. Also, there were a group of people known as the Son’s of Liberty whose purpose was to protest whenever needed no matter what it was. The Son’s of Liberty was responsible for “The Boston Tea Party”. This led to violence in the 1760s known as the “Boston Massacre” where the British Soldiers killed five colonists and shot at an angry mob. Additionally, there were battles that included American soldiers and British soldiers at Lexington Concord before the war started.
During the late 1970s a number of high profile miscarriages of justice – such as the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four etc – came to light. One of these cases, involving the murder of Maxwell Confait, led to the government setting up the Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure. Note – Maxwell Confait had been found murdered – strangled by the flex of an electric lamp and then partially burnt as the killer(s) had attempted to cover up the crime. Three boys were convicted of the murder but three years later it was proved that the police had fabricated their confessions. The Royal Commission reported back in 1981 and came to the conclusion that a better balance between bringing criminals to justice and protecting the innocent was needed.
These immigrants brought with them their native customs and traditions and integrated them into American culture. They also brought with them their secret clubs and societies. One such organization was the Molly Maguires, an Irish club that was formed in the early 18th century. The Molly Maguires have long been associated with violence and terrorism based on the convictions and subsequent executions of several members for murder in 1876 in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Historian Kevin Kenny’s book, Making Sense of the Molly Maguires (1998), however, casts significant doubt on this historical view.