Contemporary Death Penalty

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the past history of the death penalty in America and the present state of the issue. The paper points out that this paper is intended to serve as a guide for a local police chief and for the local prosecutor. The paper then offers predictions about the future of the death penalty in America and recommendations on how this issue should be handled in the future. The paper also explains the past history of the death penalty in America. In conclusion, the writer believes that the evidence does not support the wide-spread use of capital punishment, and law enforcement authorities and prosecutors should avoid lobbying for it except in the most heinous crimes and when dealing with the most incorrigible and dangerous criminals.

Outline:
Introduction
Past History of the Death Penalty in America
Present State of the Death Penalty Issue
Prediction on the Future of the Issue and Recommendations for the Local Police Chief and the Local Prosecutor

From the Paper:

"Further, even as Americans "humanized" the means by which the death penalty was carried out in the nineteenth century, African-American slaves habitually received little protection under the law and were brutally punished with death for reasons that had little to do with dispensing justice. Those who have studied the history of the death penalty in American society since the nineteenth century note that the practice, though it became comparatively more humanized, still used "rough means" in executing its task; to wit, the not-always-reliable electric chair emerged towards the end of the nineteenth century and the gas chamber began to proliferate in the 1920s."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Akers, Ronald L., & Radelet, Michael L. (1996). Deterrence and the death penalty: The views of the experts. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 87(1): 1+. Retrieved August 16, 2007 from <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000459741>
• Banner, Stuart. (2002). The Death Penalty: An American History. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Bedau, Hugo Adam. (2004). Death's dwindling dominion: Public opinion is shifting against the death penalty. The American Prospect, 15(7): 3+. Retrieved August 15, 2007 from Questia database <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006388481>
• Bienen, Leigh. (1999). The death penalty in America: Current controversies. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 89(2): 1+. Retrieved August 15, 2007 from Questia database <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001293540>
• Cottrol, Robert J. (2004). The death penalty: An American history (book review). Stanford Law Review, 56(6): 1641+. Retrieved August 15, 2007 from Questia database <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5006312643>

More papers on Contemporary Death Penalty:

• Research Paper # 44817 : "Death Penalty"
• Persuasive Essay # 134590 : "On the Death Penalty"
• Argumentative Essay # 98213 : "Correctional Officers and the Death Penalty"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: