The Restoration of the Death Penalty

Paper Summary:

This paper presents some very cogent arguments against the death penalty. The paper first reveals that there are a disproportionate number of African Americans on death row and those convicted of capital crimes tend to be men who come from low income families and cannot afford good legal representation. The paper then discusses how the methods of carrying out capital punishment sentences have come under fire from many sources while the death penalty has cost taxpayers an enormous amount. Finally, the paper reveals that one out of every seven people sentenced to die from the death penalty turns out to be innocent.

From the Paper:

"Is the death penalty - also called "capital punishment" - a good thing or a bad thing? For a country like America that claims to the world it is a nation of laws, and that its people believe in civility, ethical behavior and human rights, should we be putting criminals to death? There are many Americans who feel the death penalty is wrong, and their argument is that the death penalty is immoral, socially abhorrent and it does not serve as a deterrent. Some believe that individuals who commit certain horrible crimes should be put to death in order to bring justice to the community and closure to the victims' families. The recommendation to a new member of the state legislature is to vote against the bill to restore capital punishment, for the reasons that will be outlined and reviewed in this paper."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Adams, Lucy. "Death by Discretion: Who Decides Who Lives and Dies in the UnitedStates of America?" American Journal of Criminal Law, 32.3 (2005): 381-401.
• American Civil Liberties Union. "National Death Penalty Fact Sheet / Race and the DeathPenalty." 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2008, fromhttp://www.aclu.org/capital/facts/10593res20050216.html.
• Amnesty International. "UN adopts landmark decision on global moratorium on executions."15 Nov. 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2008, from http://news.amnesty.org/index/ENGIOR300252007.
• Cohen-Cole, Ethan; Durlauf, Steven; Fagan, Jeffrey; & Nagin, Daniel. "Reevaluating theDeterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: Model and Data Uncertainty." U.S. Department ofJustice. Dec. 2006; Document No. 216548.
• Death Penalty Information Center. "Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty"; "Deterrence: States Without the Death Penalty Fared Better Over Past Decade"; Retrieved April 8, 2008,From http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org.

More papers on The Restoration of the Death Penalty:

• Argumentative Essay # 119791 : "Anti-Death Penalty Essay"
• Research Paper # 55283 : "The Death Penalty"
• Argumentative Essay # 9602 : "Restorative Justice: An Alternative to Capital Punishment."

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