Cowan 1

Austin Cowan
English 1010-90
Professor Peterson
1 Nov. 2015
Who Merits Punishment?
Introduction: The topic I have chosen was an easy one for me to pick as it is one that I am
interested in. My first semester in college was focused towards the study of criminology and law
enforcement. This subject has always grabbed my attention. While studying, a specific topic
seemed to arise quite often. Capital punishment has been a widely discussed and diverse
argument for years. This subject is a very big topic among human rights activists on whether this
decision is humane or not. The question I would like to arise and research is, at what point if any
does the death penalty become inhumane? Diverse opinions and examples discuss this affair. I
believe that this type of punishment should be saved for only the vilest of offenders.

Blecker, Robert. The Death Penalty Needs to be an Option for Punishment. The New York
Times.com. The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
Summary: Robert Blecker states and believes that capital punishment should be an option for
punishment of criminals that deserve it. Blecker declares that those that oppose capital
punishment and the death penalty only do so by attempting to use false premises and
misperception to blind and persuade the society of the United States. His point is when it comes
to the worst of the worst killers and criminals; most of society agrees that capital punishment is a
valid choice of punishment. Perhaps his most persuasive approach is that those not sentenced to
death and instead are convicted to life in prison. They receive a high commodity life inside the

Cowan 2

prison walls. Those criminals are given things such as T.V., food, activities, and sometimes even
visits, all paid for by the U.S. Government.
Rhetorical Analysis: Robert Blecker in this article argues his point that criminals should in fact
be sentenced to death if they indeed deserve it. Robert Blecker is indeed a reliable source as a
professor at New York Law School who teaches criminal law and the eighth amendment. This
credibility is important in knowing that he does know what the eighth amendment of the
constitution is. The eighth amendment states, Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive
fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Apart from his teaching at new
York Law School, Blecker has also has accumulated thousands of hours over 13 inside maximum
security prisons. Blecker interviewed hundreds of convicted criminals on death row. He is
familiar with the life that inmates live. Blecker is a nationally known advocate for the death
penalty.
Being that this article was published online through The New York Times, the audience is
limitless. Viewers throughout the country can read and even comment on this site. Bleckers
opinion is meant to be seen by all who are on the fence about the death penalty and also those
officials who are determining the law. Blecker uses personal interviews with the officers inside
the prison as an evidence of how they will treat those inside. For example What a man did out
there is none of my business. I only care how he behaves inside. This shows that the officials
guarding the criminals inside will treat them with respect regardless of what they did outside. If a
killer or child offender remains well behaved, they receive such privileges as color television,
basketball and softball or read a good book, most of the day every day. These are expenses that
the government covers. Logically it does not make sense that life inside prison is better than their

Cowan 3

life outside of it. Bleckers appeal is convincing and credible to the reader and is a foothold for
those who uphold capital punishment.
Assessment: Bleckers article can influence the thinking on this topic by his in depth perspective
as a first hand witness to those who are on death row and also those who are in prison awaiting
their sentence. His viewpoint may sound inhumane to certain activists but his thoughts and
insights are convincing to the average person living in America. According to Blecker the capital
punishment should be considered for the worst of the worst criminals.

Bloodsworth, Kirk Noble. Of Course the Death Penalty is Cruel and Unusual. The New York
Times.com. The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.
Summary: Kirk Noble Bloodsworth starts out his article on the death penalty by naming
examples of people sentenced to death who could have been innocent. He states that it will
always be possible to sentence an innocent man to death. He gives a personal approach as he was
wrongly convicted and put on death row for 2 years for a crime he was later proven innocent of.
He believes that the system of the death penalty is broken beyond repair, causing someone
(usually a minority) to receive the short end of the stick. Bloodsworth says that racial and
economic disparities are reasons enough to end capital punishment. According to Bloodsworth,
Americans are not liking what they see when it comes to the death penalty. In the past six years
before this article six states have ended capital punishment. If it can happen to him, it can happen
to anyone.
Rhetorical Analysis: Perhaps one of the greatest credible sources for this topic is Kirk
Bloodsworth. A marine veteran and a man who was wrongly sentenced to 9 years in prison and 2
years on death row. Kirk Bloodsworth was convicted for the rape and murder of a child due to

Cowan 4

the misidentification of five eyewitnesses. Bloodsworth was the first man exonerated from death
row in the United States due to DNA testing research. The emotion of his story coupled with the
article he has written drives a very personal touch to the reader. He ended this article by saying,
If it can happen to me, it could happen to you. How would one feel if they were sentenced to
life in prison or to death row for a crime they did not even commit? This article argues the
reasoning behind capital punishment. How effective is it really? Cruel and unusual would be the
accurate words to describe a mans life being taken when he is fully innocent of any crime. He
uses the examples of three men who were possibly innocent yet sentenced to death: Carlos
DeLuna, Ruben Cantu, and Cameron Todd Willingham. The reader can take a look at this article
and fully confide that Bloodsworth is looking out for the rights of Americans. Citizens have the
security that they are innocent until proven guilty, but this article causes them to wonder to what
extent.
Assessment: The reasoning and view of Bloodsworth widely differs from that of Blecker. These
opposing viewpoints show the contrast in this topic. Bloodsworth convinces his audience of the
danger of unjustly convicting a person and the consequences of such actions on that person. To
avoid such drastic penalties Bloodsworth stands ups against capital punishment and calls to
abolish it.

Lawyers USA Staff, Report. "U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To Lethal
Injections." Lawyers USA. 5 May 2008. Legal Collection. Web. 18 Nov. 2015
Summary: This article is a publication of the outcome of a trial in Kentucky. The trial in
question is Baze vs. Rees in the supreme court. The argument being made is that lethal injection
is cruel and unusual punishment and violates the eighth amendment. This trial was overruled and

Cowan 5

the court stated that lethal injection is a viable source for the death penalty. They also rebutted
that more than solely protecting the victim from pain is that it defends them from any risk of
failure during the injection.
Rhetorical analysis: This source is very reliable as it is a supreme court case and is accurate and
able to be confirmed through the stash of government records. It was published by Lawyers
USA. This article clears a few of the rebuttals against the death penalty in that the ruling was that
lethal injection is within the demands and rights of the eighth amendment. Lethal injection is a
reliable and accurate way to execute and has an almost perfect success rate.
Assessment: This article relates directly to the article written by Caryn Tamber. Caryn argued
that lethal injection was inhumane and caused pain and suffering for the criminal. However now
in this article it is proven that it is in fact within the specified interpretation of the eighth
amendment and thus a reliable source for the death penalty. Little argument can be made against
a supreme court ruling, and this article provides a strong statement for the argument of the
humanity of capital punishment.

Persky, Anna Stolley. Numbers Tell the Tale. ABA Journal.com. 97.5 (May 2011): 18-19.
Legal Collection. Web. 13 Nov. 2015.
Summary: The article defines a state statute in North Carolina that allows inmates to argue
racial bias influence in their trials. There were over 150 inmates seeking relief in due to this state
statute. The article discusses different opinions on whether or not race has played a factor in the
sentencing of many of these inmates. The history of race in this topic goes back to the mid to late
1900s. However little evidence can support the claims of inmates pleading that racial biased
played a role in their sentencing.

Cowan 6

Rhetorical Analysis: Numbers Tell the Tale. From a logical standpoint this article really does
show how the number of inmates who are pleading for racial bias tells a tale about how this
could really play a factor in the sentencing of inmates. However just because there is a large
amount of inmates appealing their case, does not mean that they will all be successful in court.
Persky is an ex-reporter for Fox News, Bloomberg, and a reporter for the daily journal. She is
now a freelance writer who specializes in legal issues. She has built a reputation for herself
creating articles that address the most controversial legal arguments out there. Her facts and
sources are reliable and accurate. Persky quotes numerous professors of law and uses their
evidence and insight to make her claim. From what is learned in the article, race is rarely a factor
in the sentencing of an inmate to death row, and is mostly impossible to prove.
Assessment: This source helps the argument of the death penalty by quieting the question of race
in sentencing. Many inmates have plead that they are only on death row due to their race and
culture. Granted there are a few cases where this has been approved, however the number is
minute enough to dismiss it as a reason that someone would be sentenced to death. It helps the
question mentioned in the introduction in that yes it would be inhumane to sentence someone to
death solely due to their race. It relates to Bloodsworth in that he had a comment that most of the
inmates on death row are minorities. Race is not a major issue when it comes to capital
punishment.

Putnam, Charles T and James M. Reams. Making the Case for the Deterrence Effect of Capital
Punishment. New Hampshire Bar Journal. Summer 2011:18-20.

Cowan 7

Summary: Charles Putnam and James Reams have collaborated in creating an article which
describes the deterrent effect that capital punishment has on would be murderers. The deterrent
effect simply is that fear of a certain punishment deters or frightens a person or persons to not
commit an offense. Due to data collected from various authors studies show that capital
punishment creates a very significant deterrent effect. Since the legal change in 1977 permitting
execution, homicide rates have dropped. They use the data collected to show that states that
allow the death penalty have lower homicide rates than states that have abolished this type of
punishment. The facts collected show a convincing reason why capital punishment should be
upheld.
Rhetorical Analysis: The sources and evidences used by Reams and Putnam is what really
makes this article convincing. Hard facts about how the death penalty causes a deterrent effect on
the public and those who would otherwise commit a capital crime. Logically this article is sound.
States that do not uphold capital punishment have more homicides than the states that do uphold
it. A man has less fear to murder someone when in the back of his head he knows that he will
possibly receive the penalty of death. This goes back to parents and children. A child is
submissive to a parent who prohibits certain activities for fear of certain consequences. In this
article there are many facts to see but no emotion to be felt. No moving or compelling arguments
are made, that is left to the reader to experience. The fact that this article is local to New
Hampshire the audience is limited; however it has been posted online to widen the field of
viewers. Various authors were quoted in this article along with the results of their individual
studies. Much information can be found and utilized for the argument to uphold capital
punishment from this article.

Cowan 8

Assessment: This source brings a more scientific and psychological perspective into play for
the argument on whether capital punishment is cruel or unusual or if it has a certain positive
place in the criminal justice system. Discussed in this article are the outside effects that the death
penalty has, rather than the effects on the person themselves. It is still a valid point to be made on
determining whether someone merits the highest punishment for their offense.

Tamber, Caryn. "Maryland Death Penalty Foes Look To Administrative Law." Daily Record.
The (Baltimore, MD.) 26 Jan. 2006. Legal Collection. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
Summary: In this article, Caryn Tamber discusses a court trial arguing, not that capital
punishment is inhumane, but that a certain way of doing the death penalty is cruel and unusual
punishment. They argue that lethal injection violates norms and regulations within capital
punishment. These laws have been created to ensure that the criminal does not suffer when
executed. Certain first hand witnesses describe this choice of execution as being a type of
drowning that is very unpleasant and torturous to witness and receive.
Rhetorical Analysis: Caryn Tamber article on capital punishment, especially lethal injection as
being inhumane and cruel and unusual punishment provides great insight to another viewpoint.
What are the least painful, and the most comfortable way to execute this punishment? There have
been a wide range of execution styles, ranging from hanging and firing squad, to lethal injection
and electrocution. Obviously some sound and are more gruesome and painful than others. As
Caryn Tamber is not a very legal focused writer this source is dependent upon the trial that is
discussed within. Tamber is a professor of Jewish studies. However the case and the facts within
it are the meat of this article. Lethal injection is brought to a new light. What if it isnt as painless
and comfortable as it seems. And if this is cruel and unusual, is there another way to go about it?

Cowan 9

One need not know much to understand when something becomes cruel and unusual. This is why
so many of the different styles of execution have been overruled, such as hanging and the electric
chair. Those do not sound or seem pleasant.
Assessment: This has been the argument for years now. For those that agree that the death
penalty is a valid type of punishment; the question is raised. How to do it? This article really
strengthens the argument that there is not a truly inhumane way to execute a criminal. All include
some kind of pain or suffering. Does anyone truly deserve to be put through that? If you ask the
mother of a rape and murder victim, she might say yes. However, if you ask the mother of the
murderer, she might say no. As Bloodsworth mentioned in his article, someone will always get
the short end of the stick. (Bloodsworth).

Conclusion: Many great and convincing arguments have and can be made when the death
penalty is brought up. Many questions are posed and some are left unanswered. However there is
much information for someone to side with one of the parties and make an educated debate on
what they believe to be fair. The death penalty has been around for thousands of years. Is
America a dog that cant learn new tricks? Or is this way of discipline for certain wrongful
actions the way to best way to deal with offenders? Established above are reasons and
circumstances that would make capital punishment an inhumane, cruel and unusual type of
punishment. This paper does not conclude with an affirmative or a negative, but establishes lines
that should not be crossed when it comes to capital punishment, and when this penalty should be
considered for offenders of the law.