cap punishment Essay Example For Students

cap punishment Essay This paper will fallow the process of a capital trial from arrest to execution. It will discuss the aspects of federal and state law, trial, appeal, and executions. It will go into further detail on arraignment and the trail details of defense and sentencing. The federal law on capital punishment begins with the constitution, which states in the eighth amendment of the bill of rights that, no person shall be subject to cruel or unusual punishment. Despite this and for the reason that it is the government that decides what is cruel and unusual, capital punishment is still federally legal. Under the United States code, title eighteen there are certain crimes that can be punished by death. Section thirty-four of the said title and code says that any crime that results in the death of any person can be punished by death. Section 1512 deals with witnesses, victims, or informants. It states that anyone who kills or attempts to kill another person with the intent to prevent the attendance o r testimony at trail may be punished by death. Section 2332 states that whoever kills a national of the United States while the national is outside the United States is subject to death if the killing is murder as it is defined. Section 36 states that participants in any continuing criminal enterprise dealing with controlled substances may be punished by death. Section 1992 states that whoever willfully derails, disables, or wrecks any train used in interstate or foreign commerce can be punished by death. Finally section 831 states that anyone involved in prohibited transactions involving nuclear material can be subject to the death penalty. State laws in capital punishment defer from state to state and vary in a wide range of crimes for which it can be imposed. This range usually contains one or more of the fallowing, murder of a law enforcement officer, vehicular homicide while under the influence, contract killings, felony murder, first degree murder, or any murder. No matter the laws of the state are certain states have and will always use their own discretion in handing down a death sentence. This means that for whatever reason, be it social make up, religious make up, or the simple fact that a death sentence may inhibit the prosecution, in that the jury may be hesitant to take a life no matter what the crime, the death sentence is not always used in all cases that it is allowed in. Add to this the differing state laws and the same crime may draw different sentences in different states. The first step once a murder has been reported is to get a suspect. After a suspect is determined and probable cause has been established, a warrant will be issued for the individual?s arrest. Upon arrest the individual will be made clear of the crime of which he is being charged and his rights. He will then be taken into custody. Once in custody he will make an initial appearance in court, if the charges are not dropped the case will move on to a preliminary hearing. At t he preliminary if the charges are still not dropped bail or detention will be issued. Fallowing this a date will be set up for a grand jury indictment, if the prosecution successes in its indictment the individual will be arraigned. Supposing that the defendant gives a not guilty plea and the charges have not been dismissed, a trial date will be set. In the trial the defendant will be represented by a defense attorney and the people will be represented by the prosecution. Both sides will make their opening statements, will call witnesses, and will make their closing statements. In these the prosecution will state its facts and attempt to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. The defense will present its defense. In a murder case the possible defenses are as fallows, mistaken identity, set up, self-defense or defense of others, defense of property, aiding a peace officer, or insanity. Since the laws concerning these defers from state to state they will be dealt with in a model form. Mistaken identity is simple. The defendant is not the killer and was identified as such by mistaken witnesses or evidence. A set up means that someone who actually committed the crime or the police or law officers conspired to make the defendant seem at fault. Self-defense is only viable if the defendant felt that he was in danger of death, serious harm, rape, or kidnaping. Even then there are other stipulations. First off there had to have been no way to retreat with complete safety and their could not be any way to stop the opposing actions by surrendering a good or restraining from any certain action(s). The only way the defendant would not have to retreat is if he was in his home or place of work, or a peace officer attempting an arrest or preventing an escape. If the defense is protecting others all the above still stands and both the defendant and the individual in danger must both believe in the danger. In defense of property there are only two times when it is valid. One If the defendant was being dispossessed of his dwelling and only immediate deadly force can prevent this, or two if a felony is being committed and there has been a threat of deadly force, or if inaction will result in serious injury to himself or others. In aiding a police officer there must be a felony arrest, intent of the arrest must be made clear, there is no risk to the innocent, the crime must involve use of deadly force and if the suspect flees he will cause death or serious harm to others. A final option for the defense is the insanity defense. Three states do not have a defense for not guilty by reason of insanity, they only have guilty by reason of insanity. Three other states have abolished their insanity tests. Two states have no test. The remaining states use the American Law Institute test, the M?Naghten rule, or both. The M?naghten rule is that: ?The party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, a s not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, he did not know he was doing what was wrong.? The ALI test is this: ?A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as the result of mental disease or defect he lacks he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or mold his conduct to the requirements of the law.? These conditions are almost always associated with delusional disorders such as schizophrenia. If in the course of the trial or before the deliberations have been completed the defense may initiate a plea bargain. A plea bargain is a plea of guilty in exchange for concessions in the charges or in the sentencingMany things about the way we decide punishments and actually punish offenders have changed drastically with the times. For example In Coker vs. Georgia (1977), the Court declared that the death penalty was unconstitutionally excessive for rape of a woman and, by imp lication, for any crime where a death does not occur. The majority in Coker stated that rape by definition does not include the death of or even the serious injury to another person. Now if a person commits an act of rape or sexual assault they are more likely to serve a prison sentence. There are many problems with the punishment of prisoners. Many people argue that the fiscal cost is astronomical, it has been said that it costs an average of $30,000 per year to house, feed, clothe, and supervise a prisoner. Not including the costs of construction and other factors. When you punish an offender instead of trying to rehabilitate them I believe it causes more of a problem. They argue that punishment causes social disorientation, alienation, and also increases the risk of recidivism. When an offender is released from incarceration, they face social isolation, and economic and employment challenges. What about the people who committed offense under the influence of drugs? They need rehabilitation vs. a ?pure punishment?. Drug courts could provide the offender the job skill training, family/group counseling, and many other life-skill enhancement services that they might need to be successful when integrating back into the community. Data consistently show that treatment, when completed is effective and cost effective. On the other hand deterrence is one of the primary goals in the criminal justice system. Deterrence: the act or process of deterring: as a: the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of punishment. The act of punishment has always been based on the idea that it will deter individuals from committing crime or repeating criminal acts. Incarceration has been the most common form of punishment, however research shows that recidivism amongst convicted felons after the release from prison is as high as 63%. This could prove that punishment through incarceration is only a temporary fix to crime. Most rehabilitation programs are community programs that offer criminal offenders the chance to obtain a GED, learn a trade or obtain a college degree, go through counseling and find gainful employment and adequate housing. The types of counseling available often include drug counseling and psychological counseling. Drug counseling can be beneficial to criminal offenders who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Psychological counseling can be beneficial to criminal offenders who have had troublesome pasts consisting of issues such as childhood abuse, sexual abuse and abandonment. Many rehabilitation programs will also offer programs such as anger management for criminal offenders who have committed violent acts or those who have anger issues. The main goal of rehabilitation is to improve a criminal offender?s life so that they no longer have the desire to commit criminal acts. Rehabilitation also allows criminal offenders to be on probation where they are not in need of taxpayer money to fund their living like they would be if they were in jail or prison. 1,188 people were executed in the US from 1977 through 2009, primarily by means of lethal injection. Most death penalty cases involve the execution of murderers although capital punishment. Proponents of the death penalty say it is an important tool for preserving law and order, deters crime, and costs less than life imprisonment. They argue that retribution or an eye for an eye honors the victim, helps console grieving families, and ensures that the perpetrators of heinous crimes never have an opportunity to cause future tragedy. Opponents of capital punishment say it has no deterrent effect on crime, wrongly gives governments the power to take human life, and perpetuates social injustices. They say lifetime jail sentences are a more severe and less expensive punishment than death an also be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes. Almost 18 years ago an innocent wife and mother to two, named Sarah Bryne, received a call by her husband?s old college roommate. He explained to her that he and his wife were staying at a secluded motel near her work and were only staying for the weekend. She left work early to go and meet him and his wife. When she arrived he was alone. Once she was inside and the door closed he raped her. After raping her he stuffed her inside a small trunk, put the trun k in the back seat of his car and drove away. She made a help me sign in red lipstick and slid it through the trunk. Many motorists saw this plea and called the police. But before they could catch up he stopped on a secluded farm road, ripped her out of the trunk, strangled her with a necktie, broke her neck, and then finally finished the torture by stabbing her 14 times. He then put her mangled body back in the trunk and drove home to his wife and kids (1). There is only one offence in the state of Washington that you can receive the death penalty for and that is aggravated murder in the first degree. To receive this punishment one must plan out his act and in committing the crime commit an aggravating circumstance (3). Stabbing + raping + breaking a neck + strangulation all add up to an aggravated circumstance. It?s for people like this that we have instituted the death penalty. The death penalty is a just punishment, but like any system it does have some flaws. Although the death penalty does not work too well as a general deterrent it does work as a specific deterrent. Specific deterrent means that the penalty is keeping the offender from re-offending (2). Studies show that those who commit murder, if given the chance, re-offend. But some may wonder, isn?t life in prison keeping them from committing the crime again? The Criminal Justice Legal Foundation states that ?the leading cause of death among prison inmates is murder by other inmates. A murderer serving a life sentence has no reason at all to refrain from killing other inmates or guards, or from hiring other criminals outside of prison to kill those who helped convict them.? But on the other hand the death penalty offers the opposite effect when it comes to general deterrence. The overwhelming conclusion from years of deterrence studies is that the death penalty is, at best, no more of a deterrent than a sentence of life in prison (2). Criminologist William Bowers of Northeastern University, states t hat ?society is brutalized by the use of the death penalty, and this increases the likelihood of more murder.? (2) He later goes on to say that states in the U.S. that do not have the death penalty have drastically lower murder rates than states that do have capital punishment. The same is also true when the U.S. is compared to countries similar to it that don?t have the death penalty. The U.S., with the death penalty, has a higher murder rate than Europe and Canada, which do not use the death penalty. But the United States is not Canada or Europe, in fact Canada has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and thus their murder rates are lower. There are also studies to show that William Bowers is wrong in his statement. Isaac Ehrlich, a criminologist, did many studies which produced results showing that for every inmate who was executed, 7 lives were spared because others were deterred from committing murder and the person who committed the murder was prevented from re-committin g (2). Sentencing a convicted murder do the death penalty does save lives, but is it humane?The Webster?s dictionary states that humane is: Characterized by kindness, mercy, and or compassion. How is it kind to have someone suffocate for up to 45 minutes (hanging method)? How is it mercy to stick someone in a chamber, an invention we stole from Hitler, and instructing them to breathe deeply for a less painful death as deathly gas filters in (gas chamber method)? How are we showing compassion by shocking someone for many 30 second intervals with 500 plus volts of electricity? Capital punishment is not humane, but should it be? Why should we show a convicted aggravated murder kindness, mercy or compassion when he has neglected to show that himself?Studies have always shown that those who commit the violent act of murder were abused sexually, mentally, of physically as children. When you are abused at a young age you are taught that it is ok to be violent. Those who commit murder do no t need to be punishment so severely, but they need to be nurtured with rehabilitation. The Breakfast Club EssayOn January 31, 1988 Newt Gingrich stated that the state should use the death penalty on certain crimes such as murder and treason. Gingrich stated people much be held accountable for the crimes that commit. He stated that there were over a thousand prisoners on death row; many of them have been there since the early 1970?s because of the current criminal justice system. Death penalty is good and serves a definite purpose of reducing crime as well as bringing justice to the criminals and innocent. In order to serve its purpose, it must be adjusted and made more effective and efficient. The justice system has changed dramatically in the past thirty years in order to make sure that the rightly accused is brought to justice. I believe that death penalty should not be abolished, as it ensures the safety of the society, brings justice to those who have suffered and most importantly helps in reducing crime and criminals in our society. Death penalty is important to keep the brightness of justice and public safety shining brightly on our society. Works Cited Budau, Hugo Adam. Capital Punishment and Social Defense. Reserved reading for Philosophy 203. Bedau, Hugo Adam. The Death Penalty in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. Browning, Tonya. Capital Punishment: Life or Death. Computer Writing and Research Lab, University of Texas. Online. Internet. 27 April 2000. Haag, Ernest van den. On Deterrence and the Death Penalty. Reserved reading for Philosophy 203. Shapiro, Walter. What say should victims have? AskJeeves.com. Online. Internet. 29 April 2000. Slambrouck, Paul Van. US Prisons Under Pressure Show Increase in Violence. The Christian Science Monitor Online. 6 August 1998. Internet. Incapacitation. Websters New Collegiate Dictionary. 1981. Rein, Mei Ling Capital Punishment Cruel and Unusual? 2202 Edition 2002 Gale Group Inc Formington Hills, Michigan 48331-3535