Capital Punishment - Research Paper Example

? Running head: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Capital punishment Punishment in any form is meant to act as a reminder for the person not to commit the same offence twice or in future. There were many instances where punishments applied were successful in instilling fear in the minds of the people. But when the crime committed crossed the acceptable code of conduct according to the ruling society, punishments had to take a menacing and life snatching form. This was known as capital punishment. Capital punishment is a highly debatable issue in the present time. Though it was much more prevalent till the 19th century in different parts of the world, with growing knowledge and a civilized society, this form of punishment has become an issue of debate. At present, capital punishment is abolished in most countries, but there are some countries like USA, India and China where it is still practiced though in the rarest of the rare cases. The idea behind capital punishment crops from the medieval concept which means to repay back in blood for the blood taken. Their thinking behind favoring capital punishment is that it reduced state expenses by putting the person to death immediately, sending a strong message to the society against the crime, and thus allowed a retribution of the crime. The argument can thus be stated that capital punishment needs to be practiced in the society to control crime, regulate antisocial activities and check on the expenditure. As capital punishment or death penalty is a debatable issue, there are many scholarly reviews that focused on both aspects of this situation. The paper will focus on those scholarly resources where death penalty has been favored over its abolishment. Gregg v. Georgia Supreme Court (1976) is a case in which the court which favored capital punishment. The location of jurisdiction is Georgia State Capitol. In this case, the jury of the Supreme Court found Gregg guilty of armed robbery and murder and sentenced him to death sentence. The Supreme Court on appeal confirmed the death sentence except as to its imposition for the conviction of Gregg’s robbery. Gregg in objection challenged his remaining death sentence and stated that the capital punishment imposed on him was a cruel and unusual punishment which violated the Eight and the Fourteenth Amendments. The final results were seven votes for Georgia Supreme Court and two votes against. The court in a seven to two decision stated that a death penalty did not violate the Eight and the Fourteenth Amendment under all circumstances. In extreme cases, when the defendant has been convicted of killing another person in a deliberate fashion, the appropriateness of death penalty is robust, provided it is carefully employed. There was an assurance of death penalty statute in Georgia’s Supreme Court by several jury findings as associated with the severity of the crime and the nature of the defendant as well as a comparison with each of the circumstances of the capital sentences. The court stated that capital punishment imposition with careful scrutiny acted as a useful deterrent to future capital crimes and that it was a proper means of the social retribution against the most serious offenders (Gregg v. Georgia, 1975). If the main concept behind death penalty is to put the dead person to justice, then no form of genteel behavior should be shown to the condemned person. “If our motive in executions is revenge or even instant punishment, let's let the bastards suffer as much as possible. “Let them fry," as some proponents of capital punishment say. Why bother to put them to sleep?” (R.E.B., 1996, p.2) It is also stated in the article that Americans favor capital punishment even if by a small margin. It must also be mentioned that there were some instances where seven innocent men were awarded the sentence but were set free after spending considerable time in prison (R.E.B., 1996, p.2). In a separate case of McCleskey v. Kemp (1987), McClesky was a black man who was convicted of killing a police officer in Georgia. But against this charge McClesky gave a writ petition backed with a statistical study executed by the professors David C. Baldus, Charles Pulaski, and George Woodworth, who showed that black defendants killing white people received more capital punishments than whites killing blacks. He claimed that he had been subjected to atrocious racial discrimination. The case received five votes for Kemp and two against it. The Court, after a careful scrutiny, found out that the purposeful discrimination as claimed by him was nullified under the Equal Protection law of the government, and there was no constitutional violation. The statistical study showed by McClesky did not demonstrate any constitutionally significant risk of racial bias which affects the Georgia capital sentencing process (McCleskey v. Kemp, 1987). The fifth article, “Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media’s Portrayal of Death Penalty Support,“ by David Niven showed how media played a crucial role in making death by capital sentence a “wave of public enthusiasm” (Niven, 2002). The article showed that the role of media was so intense in America about the matter that general people stopped questioning it. It had also become an important issue in American politics. But there is also evidence which shows discrimination in imposing death penalty. In the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972), Furman burgled a private home, and when fleeing, he got caught by a family member. Facing hurdles, he fell on the ground, and the gun which he carried fell off and unintentionally killed the resident of that home. He was convicted and sentenced to death. After critical evaluation, it was found that the imposition of death penalty in this case was cruel and unusual (Furman v. Georgia, 1972). The above literature review helps establish the fact that there are some countries like USA where capital punishment is favored over any other form of punishment. Though the ratio is declining, it would take considerable time for it to completely disappear from the society. As it has been stated, there are many advantages of death penalties, but there are loopholes too. Death sentence is supposed to wipe out the crime from the society, but it hardly does so; the pros still overweight its cons. As one cannot guarantee a complete change in the behavior of a criminal released from the death row, executing him becomes the only best option. It also saves the economic cost of the state as there are costs of keeping the prisoner safe and sound till his final judgment. In America, people seem to favor death sentences more in extreme cases. They believe it to be a form of doing justice for the murdered person. Thus, we can say that this proves the argument that capital punishment needs to be practiced in the society to control crime, regulate antisocial activities and check on the expenditure. Conclusion Death sentence is an arguable phenomenon in our times, but it can become the only form of imparting justice in some rarest of the events. Though it may appear immoral and uncivilized in the high tech society of today, it helps in sending a strong message to the society. In some cases, it also helps in relieving the inmate of the agony to wait for years deciding his fate. There are instances where people had begged to be executed as a form of moral liberation for their sins, and in of the cases discussed in this paper, there is an instance of pure discrimination. As it is also the highest form of all punishments, the jury needs to be extremely careful in awarding its sentences. No innocent must be killed for the sake of protecting the law. Justice must be done fairly, considering both the defendant and the prosecution. Death sentences are awarded to cleanse the society of social evils. The jury needs to ensure that it does not send a wrong signal to the society by building a silent anger amongst the people. Annotated bibliography Should we reintroduce the death penalty? (1990). IPA Review, 43(3), 6. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=6&hid=110&sid=4d74f33a-9fe2-48a7-a7d4-630e29f5fffe%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=9708190440 The article mentions that capital punishment needs to be awarded in some rarest instances. There were many people who voted against the concept, saying it was immoral and might mean killing an innocent person. The persons who voted in favor of it said that capital punishment can be just towards the people who have been killed in the most brutal manner. The article also stated that economically, the country favored capital punishment, too, as it reduced the state cost. R.E.B. Vengeance is whose? (1996). U.S. Catholic, 61(10), 2. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=122&sid=d5676694-ac9e-4a6f-967e-d167c5fd5234%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=9609281238 The article states that Americans favor capital punishment, even if by a small number. The article suggests that if death is to be awarded to a person who had done some heinous crime, no form of mercy must be shown to him. He must also suffer the same agony that the killed person went through. But the paper also showed how seven men were freed after being falsely convicted of crimes. Gregg v. Georgia. (1975). Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1975/1975_74_6257/ The case shows an instance which directs to the fact that capital punishment can act as an appropriate measure if applied in a judicious manner. Gregg was found guilty of robbery and murder, and he was tried by the Georgia Supreme Court with an imposition of death penalty. Against his challenge that his death penalty was a cruel decision violating the Eighth and the Fourteenth Amendment, the jury scrutinized his objections and found no reason to withdraw the capital punishment imposition from him. The court justified that the society will learn from such punishment, and it will act as barriers for an individual from committing such a disgusting crime. McCleckey v. Kemp. (1987). 481 U.S. 279. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/mccleskey.html A black man, McClesky, was sentenced to death for robbery and brutal murder of a white police officer. He defended him by providing statistical evidence showing that the black killing the white were subjected more often to capital punishment. After proper re-examination, it was found that there was no basis of racial discrimination against him under the Equal Protection law of the Constitution, and thus the capital punishment imposed was judicious. Furman v. Georgia. (1972). 408 U.S. 238. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_69_5003/ In this case, Furman, a black man, was convicted and sentenced to death penalty. In a proper scrutiny, it was found that that the murder was committed unintentionally. Re-examination of the case revealed that it violated the Eight Amendment of the Constitution. Niven, D. (2002). Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media’s Portrayal of Death Penalty Support. Social Science Quarterly (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 83(3). Retrieved from: http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=4d74f33a-9fe2-48a7-a7d4-630e29f5fffe%40sessionmgr114&vid=10&hid=19&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=7253684 This article highlights the role played by media in America in covering death sentences. The people were mostly guided by this information. Because of their role in it, capital punishment had become a more generalized matter in the country. Also it had acquired a more political interface. References Gregg v. Georgia. (1975). Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1975/1975_74_6257/ McCleskey v. Kemp. (1987). 481 U.S. 279. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/mccleskey.html Furman v. Georgia. (1972). 408 U.S. 238. Retrieved on Nov. 8, 2012 from: http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_69_5003/ Niven, D. (2002). Bolstering an Illusory Majority: The Effects of the Media’s Portrayal of Death Penalty Support. Social Science Quarterly (Blackwell Publishing Limited), 83(3). R.E.B. Vengeance is whose? (1996). U.S. Catholic, 61(10), 2. Should we reintroduce the death penalty? (1990), IPA Review, 43(3), 6. Read More