Capital Punishment

1
Capital Punishment

• Andre Jalalian, Tess Peirona, Jessica Protasio,
  Ceri Quattrin, Nick Rose

2
Posing Ethical Questions

• What are the values that support the death
  penalty?
• How do we determine what crimes are unforgivable?
• How do we determine when it is the right time to
  take a human life?

3
Facts about Capital Punishment

• Capital Punishment is outlawed in 12 states
• According to a national vote, 71 favor the death
  penalty while only 21 oppose it.
• 43 of the population favors an increase in the
  use of the death penalty, 21 favor no decrease,
  and 28 favor no change.

4
Execution Statistics

• According to the Bureau of Justice, At the end of
  2005, 36 States incarcerated 3,314 prisoners
  under the sentence of death
• Lethal injection accounted for all of the
  executions in 2005

5
Racially Unbalanced?

• According to Santa Clara Law Review, More
  condemned men and women are on California's death
  row for killing whites than for murdering people
  of any other race, despite there being more black
  and Hispanic murder victims
• Suspects who murdered whites were almost four
  times more likely to be sentenced to death than
  those who killed Hispanics, and three times more
  likely to be sentenced to death than those who
  killed blacks

6
Prisoner Housing Costs

• The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
  this year will spend an all-time high 1.1
  billion on inmate health care
• Cost of Life without parole
• 34,000 per year for 50 years plus 75,000 for
  trial and appeals 3.01 Million (tax dollars at
  work
• State Expenditures
• Education-374.5 Billion
• Public Welfare-260.3 B
• Health-43.7 B
• Prisons 29.5 B
• Natural Resources-17.3B

7
Costs of Death Penalty Cases

• 60,000 per year for just 6 years plus 1.5 million
  for trial and appeals 1.88 million
• LWP is considered much more expensive in the long
  run than the DP

8
Arguments for Capital Punishment

• Capital Punishment may act as a deterrent (serve
  as a warning to others)
• Insures public safety
• Over time, more economical than housing a
  prisoner (this is false)

9
Arguments Against Capital Punishment

• Inhumane execution (causes mental and physical
  pain)
• Racial discrimination?
• Possible wrongful convictions
• Causes stress for those involved (prisoner and
  family)
• Does the state distribute death equally?

10
Crimes Punishable by Death

• Murder (1st and 2nd degree)
• Treason

11
Utilitarian Argument

• In general, punishment is morally acceptable only
  if it creates a better balance of happiness vs.
  unhappiness
• Discourages would be offenders to commit crimes

12
Fairness Argument

• Must be proportional to the crime
• Although punishment is justified, it is also
  limited

13
Traditional Catholic Opinion

• "Whoever sheds man's blood by man his blood shall
  be shed, for in the image of God, He made man.
  (Genesis 96)
• St. Thomas Aquinas defended the death penalty in
  order to protect the safety of society

14
Modern Catholic Opinion

• In 1999, Pope John Paul II made the following
  appeal
• The new evangelization calls for followers of
  Christ who are unconditionally pro-life who will
  proclaim, celebrate and serve the Gospel of Life
  in every situation. A sign of hope is the
  increasing recognition that the dignity of human
  life must never be taken away, even in the case
  of someone who has done great evil...

15
Other Religious Views

• The teachings of Judaism approve the principles
  of death penalty
• Lutherans and Calvinists both support the use of
  Capital Punishment
• Islam issues the death penalty and justifies it
  under Koranic Law (Sharia)

16
Bibliography

• 1."Capital Punishment Statistics." Bureau of
  Justice Statistics. 03 FEB 2006. U.S. Department
  of Justice. 5 Oct 2006 lthttp//www.ojp.usdoj.gov/b
  js/cp.htmgt. 1
• 2."Capital Punishment." The Internet Encyclopedia
  of Philosophy . 2001. University of Tennessee at
  Martin. 05 OCT 2006 lthttp//www.utm.edu/research/i
  ep/c/capitalp.htmgt. 2,3,4
• 3."Capital Punishment in the United States
  Resource Guide." Criminal Justice Data. National
  Archive of Criminal Justice Data. 5 Oct 2006
  lthttp//www.icpsr.umich.edu/NACJD/cp/gt.
• 4.B., Pennho. "Capital Punishment." Capital
  Punishment. Syracuse University. 5 Oct 2006
  lthttp//www.su.edu/faculty/bpennhol/Phil150.CapPun
  Notes.htmlgt.
• 5."Capital Punishment." Capital Punishment. 2006.
  Jamestown College. 5 Oct 2006 lthttp//www.jc.edu/c
  ampus/raugust/pathfinders2.php?id7pageNameCapit
  alPunishmentgt.
• 6.Kerby, Anderson. "Capital Punishment." 05 AUG
  2003. Probe Ministries. 5 Oct 2006
  lthttp//www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/cap-pun.ht
  mlgt.
• 7.Bobby. "Capital Punishment." Capital
  Punishment. University at Albany. 5 Oct 2006
  lthttp//www.albany.edu/ab2166/gt.
• 8.Green, Melissa. "Limiting Appeals and Habeas
  Corpus Reform." The Death Penalty Specific
  Issues. 24 MAR 2005. University of Alaska
  Anchorage. 6 Oct 2006 lthttp//justice.uaa.alaska.e
  du/death/issues.html