The current law serves to confirm and underline how seriously flawed the present law on homicide is. The Law commission described the law homicide as ‘a rickety structure set upon shaky foundations.’ There have been some slight reforms by judges and Parliament. The most recent being the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 which seeks to tackle the two longstanding problems of the homicide law which are the partial defences of loss of control (formerly provocation) and diminished responsibility which are frequently stretched and pushed to their absolute limits of reasoning in some cases as defences. The article ‘Murder most foul’ by Ian Yule, written for the A-Level law review magazine provides extensive details of some of the most common problems and criticisms that have been found with the law, as does the ‘Criminal Law’ by Elliot and Quinn. A common theme in both of these publications and
Sentencing scheme is unconstitutional b/c of overlap that inevitably tilts sentencing scales toward DP imposition 3. Permitting jury to enter sentencing hearing already across threshold of D-E entrusts determination of man’s life or death to “a tribunal organized to return a verdict of death.” vii. Vague ACs: 1. Godfrey v. GA (1980, p. 147) a. Δ admitted he had been thinking about murders for 8 years & would do it again (convicted of 2 murders) b. AC: § (b)(7): outrageously or wantonly vile murder, horrible, & inhuman c. Δ’s claim: § (b)(7) is unconstitutionally vague b/c GA SC tied AC to torture, aggravated battery, or depravity of mind – none of which were found by jury d. Held: DP imposition unconstitutional b/c did not fall w/in GA’s definition of the phrase i. Court concluded that GA SC’s constitutional construction of the AC was unconstitutional b/c there was no principled way to distinguish this case from cases in which DP wasn’t imposed ii.
Even though the accused are thought to be evil they like everyone else have constitutional rights before they are arrested. A crime is defined as “a wrong against society or the public interest” (Davenport, 2009, p. 38). Most of society thinks of a crime as breaking any law that was put into place to protect the people by people and the government. There are many different
This would make them a serial killer. It is important to catch these criminals and put them behind bars for sure, but is it enough to sentience them to death? Also with all the killing what are the homicide rates telling us? My personal opinion about the death penalty in Illinois is that it is a good thing that it is band, because morally I do not believe a killing should be punishable by another killing. Just like the old saying two wrong don’t make a right.
New York: Encounter Books, 2007. Zorn, Christopher and Iqbal, Zaryab. “The Political Consequences of Assassination,” The Journal of Conflict Resolution (June 4, 2008), http://www.jstor.org/stable/27638615 (assessed on March 31, 2014) -------------------------------------------- [ 1 ]. O’Reilly, Bill. Kennedy’s Last Days: The Assassination that Defined a Generation.
I feel it adversely is shown and sought out to enhance the value of human life by demonstrating the old saying “an eye for an eye.” If government were to lower the penalty of murder it would portray that the victims’ loss of life was less significant than that of the murderer. Some opponents feel that a life sentence in prison is a far worse punishment than death. If this is true, then why do so many convicted prisoners put on death row try to appeal and get a lesser sentence? These prisoners who committed the same act outside prison walls are now facing death with no alternative, as their victim had, and aren’t ready to answer to the consequences. In the case of Stephanie Benton, I saw this with my own eyes.
The penalty of death is a very thought out process when it is subjected to a convict. The convict has to deserve the severity of the punishment and the courts cannot have any thoughts of the sentencing as unconstitutional for it to come into affect. Some arguments that were made that are for the death penalty, “gives closure for victim’s family who have suffered, creates form of deterrent crime, parole or escaped prisoners are given another chance to kill, and gives prosecutors another bargaining chip for plea bargain process” (Messerli). The constitutional arguments against the death penalty are, “financial costs of death penalty cost more than life in prison, appeals clog court system, why kill people who killed someone, innocent men and women may be put to death, and it does not bring the victim’s life back” (Messerli). The arguments for and against the death penalty are very strong arguments and could persuade a person’s mind to believe in both sides.
God gave us life isn’t he the only one that should be able to take life away from us. However, supporters of capital punishment might argue that this kind of punishment is important for the family of the victim of a crime as it will bring them closure and the feeling that justice has been served. Nonetheless, there are some that feel that the death penalty is very bias and unfair. Some feel that those sentenced to the death penalty are those that are mentally ill, poor, males, and racial minorities that are over-represented among those executed. One pilot study of over 2 dozen convicted criminals on death row found that all had been so seriously abused during childhood that they probably all suffered from brain damage.
However, if there is someone’s life at risk, mistakes are not a good idea. The death penalty is a form of murder performed on the government’s behalf. As the United Nations, we have taken pleasure in our government with its truth and justice. It is sad to know that we, as people, consider our government fair, yet the same rules that apply to us do not apply for them. If someone kills a person he or she will be punished, but the government can kill people not only without punishment, but it is also enforced.
Ever since the beginning of time, crimes have been committed. While some are worse than others, a form of punishment was still necessary to make the criminals pay for their mistake. Everyday we hear reports about someone getting killed for reasons beyond our belief. The most common reasons people lose their lives are: robbery, money, revenge, alcohol and drugs, or simply no reason at all. It is expected that the murderer be sent to jail as payback for taking the victim’s life, but the justifiable punishment would be to sentence them to death just as they took the life of an innocent person.