The Argument Over Capital Punishment

Paper Summary:

The author of this paper examines the use of capital punishment in the United States and examines the subject from a number of viewpoints whilst specifically discussing the Constitution of the United States and its stand on the subject.

Outline:
Introduction
The Moral Argument Against Killing as Punishment
Defining "Cruel and Unusual" Punishment
Fairness in Application
Wrongful Conviction
Balancing the Interests of Criminals and the Good of Society
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The recent advances in the DNA sciences and forensic techniques has enabled criminal investigators to reexamine old case files containing preserved organic trace evidence to identify or eliminate suspects, and determine their guilt or innocence with scientific certainty and accuracy that was not available at the time the crimes were originally tried in court. Sometimes, reexamination of old evidence confirms the original conclusions; however, other times, modern analysis of old evidence does the opposite byexonerating those convicted of the crime. Several such cases have drawn significant media attention recently, both where individuals incarcerated for decades were finally released on the strength of modern reanalysis of old evidence, and more regretfully, where capital punishment was already administered.
This conclusive demonstration that capital punishment, like other forms of adjudicated determinations, is capable of being imposed wrongfully on the innocent is a very significant cause for moral concern. Again, the two arguments are (1) that the capacity for error makes capital punishment immoral on one hand, or (2) that the admitted possibility of error is addressable through improved procedural mechanisms without necessitating a reevaluation of capital punishment in principle, on the other."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Dershowitz, Alan, M. (2002) Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Little Brown & Co.
• Friedman, Laurence, M. (2005) A History of American Law. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Hall, Kermit, L. (1992) The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Nowak, John, E., Rotunda, Ronald, D. (2004) Nowak and Rotunda Hornbook on Constitutional Law, 7th Edition (Hornbook Series). St. Paul, MN: West
• Schmalleger, Frank. (1997) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New Jersey: Prentice Hall

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