Capital Punishment

1
Capital Punishment

• What are the rationales for the death penalty,
  and what does the evidence tell us about these?

2
International Context

• United States is unique among Western
  industrialized countries.
• In 1999, 86 of all known executions took place
  in the Congo, China, Iran and the United States.
• Many countries now consider capital punishment to
  be a human rights violation and refuse to
  extradite someone who may be executed in the
  United States.

3
History in the United States

• Has been used since colonial times first
  recorded execution was in 1608.
• 1930-1967 Nearly 4,000 people were executed. Of
  these, over half (54) were black, 45 were
  white. Three out of five executions during this
  period took place in the southern U.S. states.
• In 1972--Furman v. Georgia
• In 1976 the Court reinstated the death penalty
  after a ten year moratorium.

4
Argument 1. Deterrence (general)

• Cross-sectional studies
• Longitudinal studies

5
Argument 2. Incapacitation

• Obviously, an incapacitative effect occurs.
• But this can be achieved in other ways for truly
  dangerous offenders.
• Also, most people convicted of homicide are first
  time offenders.

6
Argument 3. Retribution

• A moral rather than an empirical claim.
• Question does it require that the same act be
  perpetrated?
• Psychological studies on effect on victims

7
Other Concerns Fiscal Costs

• Long-term incarceration is expensive.
• But litigate capital cases is also expensive.
• CA state government estimates that it costs 5
  million to execute and 1 million to imprison for
  life.
• Kansas legislature abolished due to expense.

8
Innocence

• Many innocent people have been sentenced to death
  and even executed.
• ATEDPA of 1996 has made it more difficult for
  federal death row inmates to appeal their
  convictions.
• Many states do not provide financial assistance
  to capital defendants to appeal their
  convictions.

9
The Case of Roger Keith Coleman

• Convicted of killing his sister-in-law scheduled
  to die in 1992.
• After trial, exculpatory evidence was discovered.
  But the U.S. Court refused to halt the execution
• Coleman was executed as scheduled.
• SC Justice Blackmun The execution of a person
  who can show he is innocent comes perilously
  close to murder.

10
Race and the Death Penalty

• Blacks are significantly more likely to be
  sentenced to death than whites, especially if the
  victim was white.
• This arguably violates the 8th and 14th
  Amendments.
• But SC has held that intent to discriminate must
  be shown in a particular case.

11
Public Opinion

• About 75 of Americans report being in favor of
  the death penalty. But
• If they have the option of being undecided,
  support drops to about 60.
• When told it has no deterrent effect, support
  drops to about 55.
• 62 say they are comfortable with life in prison
  as an alternative to death.

12
Other Issues

• Why the secrecy?
• What does it do to the people involved in the
  killing?
• What does it represent to the rest of the world,
  and how does this affect us?