Capital Punishment

History of Capital Punishment in the

United States

Early History
European (especially English) settlers influenced
our nations use of the death penalty
First recorded execution: Captain George
Kendall Jamestown, Virginia, 1608
First woman executed: Jane Champion, 1632
Crimes punishable by death: stealing grapes,
striking your Mother or Father

Colonial Times
Cesare Beccaria's 1767 essay: On Crimes and
Punishment
Thomas Jeffersons proposed bill
Dr. Benjamin Rush, founder of the Pennsylvania
Prison Society, challenged the use of the death
penalty
brutalization effect: having a death penalty actually
increased criminal conduct

1794: Pennsylvania abolishes the death penalty

for all offenses except first degree murder

19 Century
th

1846: Michigan abolishes death penalty for all

crimes except treason
Most states retained death penalty rights
Some states expanded crimes punishable by
death (especially crimes committed by slaves)
Introduction of discretionary death penalty
statues
1888: New York builds the first electric chair

Early 20 Century
th

1924: cyanide gas as a more humane form

of execution
1920-40s: resurgence in death penalty
after a short-lived lull
Criminologists wrote that the death penalty
was a necessary social measure
Prohibition and the Great Depression
More executions in the 1930s than in any
other decade in American history

Mid-Late 20 Century
th

1950s: public opinion turns against capital

punishment
1940s: 1,289 executions
1950s: 715 executions
1967-1977: voluntary moratorium
January 17, 1977: moratorium ends with
execution of Gary Gilmore by firing squad
Also in 1977: Oklahoma became the first state to
adopt lethal injection as a means of execution

Constitutionality
Prior to the 1960s: Fifth, Eighth, and
Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted
as allowing the death penalty
Early 1960s: suggested that the death
penalty was "cruel and unusual"
punishment

Other Laws
1994 - President Clinton signs the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
expanding the federal death penalty
1998: Northwestern University National
Conference on Wrongful Convictions and
the Death Penalty

59 prisoners were executed in the USA in 2004,

bringing the year end total to 944 executed since the
use of the death penalty was resumed in 1977.
Over 3,400 prisoners were under sentence of death as
of January 1, 2005.
38 of the 50 US states provide for the death penalty in
law.
The death penalty is also provided under US federal
military
and civilian law.

State Name

Texas

Virginia

Florida

Delaware

California

Current
Death Row
Population

414

23

388

19

648

Can a
Yes
defendant get
death for a
felony in
which s/he
was not
responsible
for the
murder?

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Number of
Innocent
Persons
Freed From
Death Row

21

Method

Injection

Choice of
Injection or
Electrocution

Choice of
Injection or
Electrocution

Injection / Choice Choice of

of Hanging if
Injection or
sentenced before Gas
6/13/86

 The song Hurricane by Bob

Dylan made a huge difference in
the life of Rubin Hurricane
Carter.
Carter was sentenced to life in
prison for the murder of 3 white
people who were gunned down at a
bar in Paterson, New Jersey on
June 16, 1967. Police were looking
for 2 black men and pulled over
Carter and his friend John Artis.
They were sentenced to life in
prison.

An innocent man?
8 years into his incarceration, Carter
sent Dylan a copy of his autobiography.
Dylan visited him in prison, and
convinced of his innocence, wrote
"Hurricane."
Dylan went to Carter's prison in 1975
as a show of support. The visit brought
a lot of attention to Carter's case.

Raising attention and money

Touring with the Rolling Thunder
Revue, which featured Joan Baez, Joni
Mitchell and Roberta Flack, Dylan
raised over $100,000 for Carter's
defense at a Madison Square Garden
concert the day after visiting his
prison. A month later, they held another
charity concert, Hurricane II, in the
Astrodome.

 Dylan's efforts brought new publicity to

Carter's case, getting him a new trial in 1976,
where he was again convicted, with
prosecutors claiming he killed the men in
retaliation for a murder of a black man earlier
that night. Carter was not freed until 1984,
when his conviction was finally overturned.

Pro Capital Punishment

Public Support

Gallup Polls
Are you in favor of the death penalty
for a person convicted of murder?

Except for a period during the 1950s and 1960s,

a majority of Americans have supported
capital punishment.
Recent support has been high. A 1988 Gallop
Poll reported that 79% of Americans supported
the death penalty, and that percentage rose to
80% in 1994.

For

Against

No
Opinion

2005 May 2-5

74%

23%

03%

2004 May 2-4

71%

26%

03%

2003 Oct 6-8

64%

32%

04%

2003 May 19-21

70%

28%

02%

2003 May 5-7

74%

24%

02%

2002 October 10

70%

25%

05%

2002 May 6-9

72%

25%

03%

2001 Oct 11-14

68%

26%

06%

2001 May 10-14

65%

27%

08%

Once a CriminalAlways a
Criminal
Of the 3,452 inmates on Death Row as of January 1,
2004
65% had a prior felony conviction at the time of the
murder
8% had a prior homicide conviction at the time of the
murder
8% had criminal charges pending at the time of the
murder
27% were on probation or parole at the time of the
murder
4.5% were incarcerated or had escaped from
incarceration.

Philosophical View

Utilitarianism-the right action is the one that

produces the greatest good.
The most common defense of capital punishment is
based on Utilitarian ground
1. Prohibits the criminal from offending again
2. Deterrence for would-be offenders

Both of these contribute to creating a greater

balance of happiness in society, thus supporting
the Utilitarian view

John Locke

He argues a person forfeits his

rights when committing even minor
crimes
His support for Capital Punishment
is based on 2 views:
1.

Retributive: Criminal deserves

punishment as retribution for his
act

2.

Utilitarian: Punishment is
needed to protect our society by
deterring the crime through
example

Its the right way

The death penalty is morally just. When a
person commits murder, the only appropriate
way for a criminal justice system to respond is to
demonstrate the outrage of society. The
sacredness of human life must be reinforced. If
outrage for each murder is not conveyed, the
value of life is cheapened. Therefore, the
sanction for murder should be proportionate
justice: if one takes a life, one must die too.

Whats more humane?

Is the death penalty less humane than life
imprisonment?
The prisoner suffers by rotting in prison for the
rest of his life, while the death penalty is
instantaneous in comparison (8 yrs. vs. 30-40 yrs.)
Prison is more torturous and degrading than
execution, as your freedom is taken and youre
essentially locked-up in a cage (much like an
animal)
Physical torment (which we all know about)

Cost of Imprisonment
New York City's Correction Department
spent an average of nearly $59,000 per
inmate in the 2003 fiscal year.
But when all city expenses are factored in insurance and pension benefits for
correction staff, for instance, as well as more
than $150 million for jail medical care - the
yearly per-inmate cost is closer to $100,000,
according to the city's Independent Budget
Office. (As reported by NY Times)

$240,000,000,000 per year in New York

The Bargain of the Death

Penalty

Opponents claim that Life Without Parole should replace

the Death Penalty
The life without parole alternative to the death penalty
keeps criminals in prison on avg. 30-40 yrs. With the
national cost of incarceration between 40-50 thousand
dollars annually.
35 yrs. X $45,000 = $$$$1,575,000
The average time on death row for those executed from
1973-1994 was 8 yrs.
8 yrs. X 45,000 = $360,000

Average savings per execution: $1,215,000

Put that towards the National Deficit!!!

Options for Execution

Murderers who are executed are given an option of how theyd like to be
executed (options vary by state), a luxury that wasnt afforded by their
victims
CHOICES MAY INCLUDE:

Lethal injection (81% since 1976)

Electrocution (16%)-9 states
Lethal Gas (1.1%)-Only available in Arizona, California, Missouri & Wyoming
Hanging (0.3%)-Only available in Delaware, New Hampshire, & Washington
Firing Squad (0.2%)-Only available in Idaho & Oklahoma

AMA and Lethal Injection

The American Medical Association has
decried the participation of doctors in
executions as a clear violation of medical
ethics. Nonetheless, since all 38 states
with the death penalty use lethal
injections, doctors are needed -- and
doctors do participate.

Bottom Line
The Death Penalty Incapacitates The Offender.
Capital punishment eliminates the threat of convicted
murderers killing again. An example of this possibility is
provided by James W. Marquart and Jonathan R.
Sorenson, sociologists at Sam Houston State University.
They examined the histories of all those re-sentenced
after the Supreme Court emptied state death rows with
its Furman decision. Seven of those released prisoners
committed another murder after leaving prison.
The recidivism rate for capital punishment is zero. No
executed murderer has ever killed again. You can't say
that about those sentenced to prison, even if you are an
abolitionist.

Against Capital Punishment

Cons of Capital Punishment

It does not deter crime
The U.S. has been unable to prevent accidental
execution of those wrongly accused and convicted
Race plays a central role in who is executed and who
is not
Often the actual facts of the case are not used to
determine if the death penalty is applied

Cons of Capital Punishment

Almost every religion condemns the death penalty
Most other developed countries have abolished the
death penalty
Executions are expensive to taxpayers
The money saved from executions could go to
families of the victims

Cons of Capital Punishment

Incompetent counsel is a problem in more than half
of all trials that result in the death penalty
The alternative (life without parole) is better for all
parties

(deathpenalty.org)

$2,000,000 Million
Estimated cost for CA taxpayers per
execution
Costs more ($90,000) to house inmates on
death row than in the general prison
population

1993 Study by UC Berkeley

Professor
Capital punishment trials are different
than other trials
Juries are prepared differently
Dual trial for defendant
Automatic appeal if convicted

More Reasons to Abolish

Capital Punishment
Purported to be for protection of society
and deterrent to future criminals
Cannot reform criminals because their
lives are effectively cut short
Capital Punishment is irrevocable and
errors cannot be fixed once committed

The U.S. Compared to the Rest

of the World
Since 1976 (the year the U.S. reinstated the death
penalty) an average of 3 countries/year have abolished
the death penalty (amnestyinternational.org)
75 countries have abolished the death penalty
altogether on grounds that it is cruel and unusual
punishment
"The forfeiture of life is too absolute, too irreversible,
for one human being to inflict it on another, even when
backed by legal process. And I believe that future
generations, throughout the world, will come to
agree. - Kofi Annan

 86 countries and territories have abolished the death

penalty for all crimes
11 countries have abolished the death penalty for all
but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes.
25 countries can be considered abolitionist in
practice: they retain the death penalty in law but have
not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or
more and are believed to have a policy or established
practice of not carrying out executions

 Over 40 countries have abolished

the death penalty for all crimes
since 1990.
They include countries in Africa
(recent examples include Cte
dIvoire, Senegal),
The Americas (Canada, Paraguay,
Mexico), Asia and the Pacific (Bhutan.
Samoa,
Turkmenistan)
And Europe and the South
Caucasus (Armenia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Greece,
Serbia and
Montenegro, Turkey).

Death sentences and executions

During 2004, at least 3,797 people were
executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395
people were sentenced to death in 64 countries.
In 2004, 97 percent of all known executions
took place in China, Iran, Vietnam and the USA.
Iran executed at least 159 people, and
Vietnam at least 64.
There were 59 executions in the USA, down
from 65 in 2003.

Sources

www.deathpenalty.org
www.amnestyinternational.org
http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/weekly/bldeathpenalty.htm
http://www.closeup.org/punish.htm
http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/dpusa.htm