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Explore the controversial concept of capital punishment and its implications on the presumption of innocence. Discuss the history, reasons, and global perspectives surrounding this issue.
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DO NOW • IS OUR JUDICIAL SYSTEM SET UP IN A WAY WHERE THE ACCUSED ARE “INNOCENT OR PROVEN GUILTY” OR ARE THEY “GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN INNOCENT?” EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
DO NOW • WHAT DO YOU THINK CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS? DO YOU AGREE WITH CAPITAL PUNISHMENT? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
DO NOW • WHAT DO YOU THINK CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IS? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT?
1. capital punishment 1. the infliction of death upon a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense Section 1: History of Capital Punishment Capital punishment or the death penalty is a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime.
Public opinion polls show that between 60 and 70 percent of Americans approve the use of the death penalty in some cases. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, about 85 percent of executions occur in the south - half of them in Texas. CBS "Sunday Morning" recently reported that since the advent of DNA evidence, 17 prisoners on death row had been found innocent and released. So why do so many Americans support the death penalty? • 2. capital crimes • 3. capitalis • 4. U.S. executions • 2. crimes that result in the death penalty • 3. “regarding the head” • 4. 85% of executions occur in the South
Color key: No current death penalty statute Death penalty statute declared unconstitutional No one executed since 1976 Has performed execution since 1976
5. 58 nations 6. 140 countries 7. ICDP 5. currently practice capital punishment 6. have abolished it (do not allow capital punishment) 7. International Commission Against the Death Penalty Capital punishment has in the past been practiced in virtually every society, although currently only 58 nations actively practice it, with 95 countries abolishing it (the remainder having not used it for 10 years or allowing it only in exceptional circumstances such as wartime). In April, the International Commission Against the Death Penalty (ICDP) released a new report titled, How States Abolish the Death Penalty. The report examines the experiences of 13 countries, including Argentina, France, Haiti, the Philippines, South Africa, and 2 states in the U.S. (Connecticut and New Mexico), in their paths to ending capital punishment. The report noted that some states took intermediary steps to abolition, including establishing an official moratorium on executions, reducing the scope of the death penalty, or removing mandatory sentences
8. 60% of the world’s population 9. pro-death penalty high populated countries 8. live in countries where executions take place 9. People’s Republic of China, India, United States and Indonesia However, over 60% of the world's population live in countries where executions take place, insofar as the four most populous countries in the world (the People's Republic of China, India, United States and Indonesia) apply the death penalty. All of them voted against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly in 2008.
10. reasons for capital punishment 11. capital punishment is reserved for 10. to punish crime committed & suppress political dissent 11. murder, espionage (spying), treason, military justice Execution of criminals and political opponents has been used by nearly all societies—both to punish crime and to suppress political dissent. In most places that practice capital punishment it is reserved for murder, espionage, treason, or as part of military justice. In some countries sexual crimes, such as rape, adultery, incest and sodomy, carry the death penalty, as do religious crimes such as apostasy in Islamic nations (the formal renunciation of the state religion). In many countries that use the death penalty, drug trafficking is also a capital offense. In China, human trafficking and serious cases of corruption are punished by the death penalty. In militaries around the world courts-martial have imposed death sentences for offenses such as cowardice, desertion, insubordination, and mutiny.
DO NOW • WHICH HIGHLY POPULATED COUNTRIES ARE PRO-DEATH PENALTY? WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION WHO LIVE IN COUNTRIES WHERE EXECUTIONS TAKE PLACE? ARE YOU SURPRISED BY THIS PERCENTAGE?
12. examples of historical penalties include 12. breaking wheel, boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion Severe historical penalties include breaking wheel, boiling to death, flaying, slow slicing, disembowelment, crucifixion, impalement, crushing (including crushing by elephant), stoning, execution by burning, dismemberment, sawing, decapitation, scaphism, necklacing or blowing from a gun.
Breaking Wheel • The victim's limbs were tied to the spokes and the wheel itself was slowly revolved. Through the openings between the spokes, the torturer usually hit the victim with an iron hammer that could easily break the victim's bones. Once his bones were broken, he was left on the wheel to die, sometimes placed on a tall pole so the birds could feed from the still-living human.
Flaying • Flaying is an ancient, and particularly frowned upon method of torture and execution, which involves the use of a blade to remove several layers of the victim's skin, exposing nerve and muscle tissue, and leaving them in perpetual agony, assuming they survive the ordeal at all.
Slow Slicing • Slow slicing (or lingchi) is a method of execution in which slices of flesh are systematically removed from the body of the condemned. It was used in China from around the 10th century up until 1905 when it was outlawed. Also known as death by a thousand cuts, the executioners task was to make as many cuts as possible without killing the victim.
Disembowelment • Disembowelment or evisceration is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract (the bowels), usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area.
Boiling to Death • Death by boiling is a method of execution in which a person is killed by being immersed in a boiling liquid. While not as common as other methods of execution, boiling to death has been used in many parts of Europe and Asia. • Executions of this type were often carried out using a large vessel such as a cauldron or a sealed kettle that was filled with a liquid such as water, oil, tar, or tallow, and a hook and pulley system.
13. Code of Hammurabi 14. Romans 13. set different punishment and compensation according to the different class/group of victims and perpetrators 14. used the death penalty for a wide range of offenses In certain parts of the world, nations in the form of ancient republics, monarchies or tribal oligarchies emerged. These nations were often united by common linguistic, religious or family ties. Moreover, expansion of these nations often occurred by conquest of neighboring tribes or nations. Consequently, various classes of royalty, nobility, various commoners and slave emerged. Accordingly, the systems of tribal arbitration were submerged into a more unified system of justice which formalized the relation between the different "classes" rather than "tribes”. The earliest and most famous example is Code of Hammurabi which set the different punishment and compensation according to the different class/group of victims and perpetrators.
For centuries, laws had regulated people’s relationships with one another in the lands of Mesopotamia. Hammurabi’s collection of laws provides considerable insight into social conditions in Mesopotamia. 15. Hammurabi 16. Hammurabi’s Code 15. Leader of Babylon who gained control of a new Mesopotamian kingdom after the fall of the Akkadian Empire. 16. A collection of 282 laws. Based on a system of strict justice. “An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth”
17. Hammurabi’s consumer protection laws 18. Hammurabi’s major focus 17. builders were held responsible for the buildings they constructed 18. was on the family; a woman’s place is in the home The law could also included what we would call consumer protection laws. Builders were held responsible for the buildings they constructed. If a house collapsed and cause the death of the owner the builder was put to death. If the collapse caused the death of a son of the owner, the son of the builder was put to death. If goods were destroyed, they had to be replaced and those rebuilt at the builder’s expense.
19. gadabout 20. consequences for being a gadabout 19. a woman neglecting her house or humiliating her husband 20. the woman will be drowned Hammurabi’s code made it clear that women had far fewer privileges and rights in marriage than did men. A woman’s place was definitely in the home. If she failed to fulfill her duties, her husband had legal grounds for divorce. In addition, if a wife was not able to bear children or tried to leave home to engage in business, her husband could divorce her. Even more harsh, a wife who was a gadabout…neglecting her house and humiliating her husband,” could be drowned.
Roman crucifixion was a form of capital punishment reserved for individuals considered to be the very worst criminals. Jesus of Nazareth was executed in this way. Roman crucifixion was a particularly severe execution. The cross, the instrument of execution, consisted of two beams of wood called the stipes and the patibulum. The stipes was the upright beam which remained implanted in the ground at the place of execution. The patibulum or crossbeam was carried across the shoulders of the prisoner to the execution site. This crossbeam generally weighed approximately 110 pounds. • 21. Roman Crucifixion • 22. crossbeam (patibulum) • 21. severe capital punishment in which the victim's hands and feet were bound and nailed to a cross • 22. was carried to the execution site (weighed 110 pounds)
Forms of execution used by the Romans included burning in the tunica molesta, systematic murder, crucifixion, and the feeding of Christians to lions and other wild beasts. Tacitus' Annals XV.44 record: "...a vast multitude, were convicted, not so much of the crime of incendiarism as of hatred of the human race. And in their deaths they were made the subjects of sport; for they were wrapped in the hides of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses, or set on fire, and when day declined, were burned to serve for nocturnal lights." • 23. Jesus of Nazareth (father of Christianity) • 24. early Christians • 23. was executed this way; (was considered a rebel by the Romans) • 24. were tortured and sentenced to death which some took place in the Colosseum
Crucifixion Uncovered Video • http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/jesus-rise-to-power/videos/crucifixion-uncovered/?source=vidcarousel&videoDetect=t%252Cf
DO NOW • WHO WAS JESUS OF NAZARETH? HOW WAS HE EXECUTED AND BY WHOM?
In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. When they failed to improve, the village doctor, William Griggs, was called in. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the death by hanging of nineteen men and women. In addition, one man was crushed to death; seven others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed. • 25. Salem Witch Trials of 1692 • 26. accusers • 25. hanging of nineteen men and women; one man crushed to death in being accused of witchcraft • 26. daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris
Salem witch trials • To understand the events of the Salem witch trials, it is necessary to examine the times in which accusations of witchcraft occurred. There were the ordinary stresses of 17th-century life in Massachusetts Bay Colony. A strong belief in the devil, factions among Salem Village fanatics and rivalry with nearby Salem Town, a recent small pox epidemic and the threat of attack by warring tribes created a fertile ground for fear and suspicion. Soon prisons were filled with more than 150 men and women from towns surrounding Salem. Their names had been "cried out" by tormented young girls as the cause of their pain. All would await trial for a crime punishable by death in 17th-century New England, the practice of witchcraft.
In June of 1692, the special Court of Oyer (to hear) and Terminer (to decide) sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft. Presided over by Chief Justice William Stoughton, the court was made up of magistrates and jurors. The first to be tried was Bridget Bishop of Salem who was found guilty and was hanged on June 10. Thirteen women and five men from all stations of life followed her to the gallows on three successive hanging days before the court was disbanded by Governor William Phipps in October of that year. • 27. Court of Oyer and Terminer “witchcraft” court • 28. Chief Justice William Stoughton • 29. Bridget Bishop • 27. sat in Salem to hear the cases of witchcraft • 28. presided over the court • 29. first to be tried; found guilty and hanged
The Superior Court of Judicature, formed to replace the "witchcraft" court, did not allow spectral evidence. This belief in the power of the accused to use their invisible shapes or spectres to torture their victims had sealed the fates of those tried by the Court of Oyer and Terminer. The new court released those awaiting trial and pardoned those awaiting execution. In effect, the Salem witch trials were over. • 30. Governor William Phipps of Salem • 31. Superior Court of Judicature • 32. spectral evidence • 30. disbanded this “witchcraft” court • 31. replaced witchcraft court; did not allow spectral evidence • 32. invisible shapes (ghosts; demons)
DO NOW • WHAT EVIDENCE DID THIS “WITCHCRAFT” COURT USE TO CONDEMN THESE PEOPLE AS WITCHES AND SENTENCE THEM TO DEATH BY HANGING? IS THIS EVIDENCE CREDIBLE (VALID)?
DO NOW • WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ARE VALID REASONS TO USE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ON A PERSON? WHAT WERE SOME OF THE METHODS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN HISTORY. SHOULD SOME OF THOSE METHODS BE REINSTATED? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
1. murder & treason 2. treason 1. are the two major crimes subject to the death penalty 2. a betrayal of one’s sovereign or nation Section 2: Modern day issues of Capital Punishment • Other capital crimes include: the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, espionage, terrorism, certain violations of the Geneva Conventions that result in the death of one or more persons, and treason at the federal level; aggravated rape in Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma; extortionate kidnapping in Oklahoma; aggravated kidnapping in Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and South Carolina; aircraft hijacking in Alabama; drug trafficking resulting in a person's death in Connecticut and Florida; train wrecking which leads to a person's death, and perjury which leads to a person's death in California.
3. Uniform Code of Military Justice 3. allows capital punishment for a list of offenses during wartime including: desertion, mutiny, spying, and misconduct before the enemy. Military view on Capital Punishment: The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) is the bedrock of military law. The UCMJ is a federal law, enacted by Congress. Articles 77 through 134 of the UCMJ are known as the "punitive articles," -- that is, specific offenses which, if violated, can result in punishment by court-martial. The last person to receive capital punishment execution was on April 13, 1961, U.S. Army Private John A. Bennett was hanged after being convicted of rape and attempted murder. The President has the power to commute a death sentence and no service-member can be executed unless the President personally confirms the death penalty. The Uniform Code of Military Justice provides the death penalty as a possible punishment for 15 offenses (10 USC Sections 886-934), many of which must occur during a time of war. All 9 men on the military's death row were convicted of premeditated murder or felony murder.
HOW MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TRIALS DIFFER • In a military capital case, the convening authority -- a high ranking commanding officer is the one who decides to bring the case to a court martial -- decides if the death penalty will be sought. Once decided, the convening authority picks those service-members who will serve as panel members/jurors. The panel must consist of 12 members.
HOW MILITARY AND CIVILIAN TRIALS DIFFER • A service member is entitled to an Article 32 hearing before he or she can be charged with a serious crime and face a court-martial. Similar to a grand jury proceeding, such a hearing is held in open court with attorneys for both sides present. A military jury in a capital case must be unanimous in both its verdict and the sentence. But if no death penalty is sought, a conviction can be secured with the assent of only two-thirds of the jury. • The commanding general who convenes the court-martial must approve the sentence and the conviction and can commute sentences he or she thinks are too harsh. • Before a condemned service member can be put to death, the president must sign an affirmative order explicitly approving the execution.
Crimes subject to the death penalty vary by jurisdiction. All jurisdictions that use capital punishment designate the highest grade of murder a capital crime, although most jurisdictions require aggravating circumstances. Treason is a capital offense in several jurisdictions. • Other capital crimes include: the use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, espionage, terrorism, certain violations of the Geneva Conventions that result in the death of one or more persons, and treason at the federal level; aggravated rape in Louisiana, Florida, and Oklahoma; extortionate kidnapping in Oklahoma; aggravated kidnapping in Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and South Carolina; aircraft hijacking in Alabama; drug trafficking resulting in a person's death in Connecticut and Florida; train wrecking which leads to a person's death, and perjury which leads to a person's death in California.
4. legal steps 5. clemency or pardon 4. (1) sentencing, (2) Direct Review, (3) State Collateral Review, and (4) Federal Habeas Corpus (5) the Section 1983 Challenge 5. governor or president of jurisdiction can reduce a death sentence The legal administration of the death penalty in the United States is complex. Typically, it involves four critical steps: (1) Sentencing, (2) Direct Review, (3) State Collateral Review, and (4) Federal Habeas Corpus. Recently, a narrow and final fifth level of process—(5) the Section 1983 Challenge—has become increasingly important. Clemency or Pardon, through which the Governor or President of the jurisdiction can unilaterally reduce or abrogate a death sentence, is an executive rather than judicial process.
Modern Methods of Execution • The remaining two states that allow hanging are New Hampshire, who allows it at the decision of the Corrections officials, and Washington, at the decision of the prisoner. Electrocution was the preferred method of execution during the 20th century. They developed a special nickname: Old Sparky (however, Alabama's electric chair became known as the "Yellow Mama" due to its unique color). Some, particularly in Florida, were noted for malfunctions, which caused discussion of their cruelty and resulted in a shift to lethal injection as the preferred method of execution. Although lethal injection dominates as a method of execution, some states allow prisoners on death row choose the method used to execute them.
6. modern methods of death penalty 7. lethal injection (1977) 6. electrocution, hanging, firing squad, lethal injection 7. is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs Electrocution was the preferred method of execution during the 20th century. They developed a special nickname: Old Sparky (however, Alabama's electric chair became known as the "Yellow Mama" due to its unique color). Some, particularly in Florida, were noted for malfunctions, which caused discussion of their cruelty and resulted in a shift to lethal injection as the preferred method of execution. Although lethal injection dominates as a method of execution, some states allow prisoners on death row choose the method used to execute them.
8. drugs used for lethal injection 9. effects of lethal injection 8. typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution (i.e. Sodium Thiopental; Pancurioum Bromide; Potassium Chloride) 9. puts the person to sleep and stops the breathing & the heart http://www.howstuffworks.com/lethal-injection.htm Regardless of the method, an hour or two before the execution, the condemned person is offered religious services, and a last meal. Executions are carried out in private with only invited persons able to view the proceedings. Lethal Injection seems to be the main method used for capital punishment. Drugs that are used for lethal injection typically seem to be a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution. It kills the person by first putting the person to sleep, muscle relaxant, which collapses the diaphragm and lungs then stopping the breathing and heart in that order.
10. Oklahoma (1977) 10. became the first state to adopt lethal injection as an execution method Execution methods used since 1976: lethal injection (987), electrocution (155), gas chamber (11), hanging (3), and firing squad (2). Thirty-five states currently enforce the death penalty: Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Idaho, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas, California, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Utah, Colorado, Indiana, Montana, Oregon, Virginia, Connecticut, Kansas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Washington, Delaware, Kentucky, Nevada, South Carolina, Wyoming, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and South Dakota.Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as an execution method in 1977.
DO NOW • WHAT ARE THE FOUR LEGAL STEPS TAKEN IN ORDER TO ADMINISTER THE DEATH PENALTY? • EXPLAIN HOW CLEMENCY/PARDON WORKS?
11. Sodium Thiopental 12. Pancurioum Bromide 13. Potassium Chloride 14. offender 11. sedative 12. Muscle relaxant, which collapses the diaphram and lungs 13. stops the heart beat 14. pronounced dead 7 min after lethal injection begins Lethal injection consists of Sodium Thiopental (sedative), Pancuronium Bromide (muscle relaxant, which collapses diaphragm and lungs), and Potassium Chloride (stops heart beat). The offender is usually pronounced dead approximately seven minutes after the lethal injection begins.
15. cost of drugs/execution 16. race of defendants executed across U.S. 15. $86.08 16. 56% white, 35% black, 7% Hispanic, 2% other Cost of drugs used per execution: $86.08. The total number of executions since 1976: 1,158. The highest annual number of executions across the U.S. since 1976 was 98 executions in 1999. Race of defendants executed across the U.S. since 1976: 56% White, 35% Black, 7% Hispanic, and 2% “Other.”
17. 2012 poll 18. Michigan (1846) 17. 69% U.S. support death penalty; 49% believe death penalty not used enough; 57% believe it was applied fairly 18. first state to abolish death penalty According to on 2012 poll, there was 69% overall U.S. support for the death penalty. 49% believed the death penalty was not used often enough, and 57% believed that the death penalty was applied fairly. Michigan was the first state to abolish the death penalty in 1846 (with the exception of treason, which was eliminated in 1963).