Abstract
This paper explores the matter of capital punishment and argues that state-sponsored and administered execution is not something that should be a part of the American political-legal process. In particular, the paper looks at the unenviable reputation America has gained around the world because of its practice of capital punishment and it questions the efficacy of the measure. The paper then discusses the chronic mistreatment of foreign nationals and the glaring subjectivity inherent in the sentencing process.

Table of Contents:
Abstract
Capital Punishment: A Matter of Life or Death

From the Paper
"One of the first things that strikes anyone concerned about the wide-spread usage of capital punishment in American society is the fact that the practice has cast America in a negative light around the world. For example, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights - an organization admittedly hostile to America for a variety of reasons - accuses the United States of using the death penalty in a manner that is racist and arbitrary. Proceeding further, the Commission asserts that certain American states - Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Louisiana - have proved to be conspicuously selective in determining which demographic groups within state penitentiaries are to be subjected to the death penalty; in other words, African-Americans have been executed far more so than have whites("Capital Punishment around the World," 2004). A little later in this paper, time will be set aside for discussing the plight of foreign nationals who find themselves confronting the death penalty, but for now it is sufficient to know that America's record with regards to the death penalty is checkered by the curious over-representation of African-Americans among those being sent to their deaths by the American state."

Tags:death, row, execution, discrimmination

Abstract
This paper describes the effectiveness of modern police organizations in the United States. It discusses improved minority and female representation within departments and the advantages that this has brought. It also describes the role of improved technology in law enforcement. The paper then describes the effects of weaknesses such as corruption and misconduct, how it affects police departments and what can be done to prevent corruption.

From the Paper
"This subculture is understandable to a certain extent, but misconduct cannot be tolerated. Law enforcers cannot be permitted to break the law in order to enforce it. Tyranny awaits us all down that road. The troubling problem of police misconduct and corruption will never be completely solved, just as the police will never be able to solve crime problems in our society. One important step in the right direction, however, is more effective monitoring and control of the police by municipal governments. This will serve to reduce and deter police misconduct and corruption by minimizing the influence of the police subculture."

Tags:corruption, discrimmination, misconduct