The Death Penalty

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, from a legal standpoint, the difference in the issue of the death penalty in Canada and the U.S. is controversial because of their shared borders. The author points out that killers from the United States cross over the Canadian border knowing that Canada will not send them back without extracting a promise from U.S. prosecutors not to seek the death penalty. The paper suggests that these two nations will have to come to an agreement about how to handle their differences; a possible solution is that each nation obeys the law of the other when it comes to handing over their fugitives.

Table of Contents
The United States
Canada
The Problem
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The legal debates surrounding and following the decision to permanently ban the death penalty in Canada dealt with more than the death penalty itself. Many experts had concerns that after deciding the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment to a human being, it would not be long before the same courts decided that life in prison without the possibility of parole would be deemed cruel and unfair punishment. For University of Calgary political scientist Rainer Knopff, the Burns-Rafay decision is yet another example of judicial activism. The court is pretty clearly coming down on the liberal side, or what we call the court party side. The "we" is a reference to his colleague, Professor Ted Morton. The two have been strong critics of the court's willingness to "legislate" in favor of liberal causes that Parliament finds too hot to handle."

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• Persuasive Essay # 142258 : "The Death Penalty Back in Canada"

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