“From Death Row to Freedom: 185 Americans since 1972 Have Avoided Executions Because They’ve Been Shown to Be Innocent.” Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
This source offers data on prisoners in the U.S. who have been put on death row despite the lack of credible evidence proving their guilt. The text documents general trends in death sentence (DS) accuracy since the early 1970s. It also reveals Black prisoners’ greater risks of being wrongfully sentenced to death, showing that they represent over 50% of exonerated DS inmates. This source has been selected due to its credibility as it contains no opinionated statements and is solely based on verifiable exoneration rate data. I will use the statistics on exonerations and race-specific exoneration trends to argue against the DS. The intended outcome involves proving that the DS is inseparable from costly mistakes, including those reinforced by prejudice.
Amnesty International. “The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished.” Criminal Justice, edited by David Haugen and Susan Musser, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
This viewpoint essay reviews the essential disadvantages of the DS, including no clear impact on deterrence, the risks of error, and incompatibility with true morality. In this text, executions are presented as pointless killings that violate the right to life and do not deter other criminals from committing violent acts. The source has been included in the bibliography since it analyzes the issue holistically by incorporating both effectiveness-related data and the considerations of morality into the conclusion. Information on executions’ ineffectiveness in deterrence, including no link between the DS and trends in homicide incidence, will be utilized to criticize the idea of executions. Regarding the outcome, it will strengthen the effectiveness-related argument against the DS.
Ford, Matt. “The Supreme Court Faces a Matter of Life and Death.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
Based on the case of McMillan, a prisoner wrongfully convicted to death in Alabama, the author demonstrates how power imbalances between judges and jurors increase the odds of errors in execution decisions. Specifically, judges can ignore jurors’ recommendation to impose life sentences based on assumptions that jurors experience exhaustion or are incompetent. The text is based on verifiable data from an actual court case, which is why it has been chosen as a source. The article, especially the fact that the jury voted 8-4 for a life sentence for McMillan, which was ignored by the judge, will be used to criticize the idea of the DS. Concerning the outcome, incorporating this fact in the planned position paper will support the argument regarding decision-makers’ excessive subjectivity in evidence evaluation.
Rancourt, Marc-Antoine, et al. “Is the Death Penalty Debate Really Dead? Contrasting Capital Punishment Support in Canada and the United States.” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, vol. 20, no. 1, 2020, pp. 536-562.
This article offers a comprehensive review of the DS debate in the U.S. and Canada, including the sources of public support for capital punishment. By assessing pro-execution citizens’ characteristics, the authors show that those favoring capital punishment are predominantly white and conservative. This article has been selected due to its timeliness and the quality of analysis ascertained by the journal’s positive reputation. Information on white Americans’ greater support in favor of the DS compared to their non-white counterparts will be used in combination with race-related trends in exoneration to highlight executions’ ability to reinforce injustice. The intended outcome is the ability to enhance the argument against the DS by showing that it is promoted by groups that tend to be the least affected by judicial errors.
Steiker, Carol S., and Jordan M. Steiker. “The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of the Death Penalty in the United States.” Annual Review of Criminology, vol. 3, 2020, pp. 299-315.
This literature review addresses the DS issue in the U.S. with reference to its past, present, and future. The researchers explain that the total abolition of this form of punishment can generate cost savings due to death-row facilities’ increasing maintenance costs. It is also argued that abolition can increase the accuracy of life without parole verdicts as it will be the new harshest punishment. The article is recent and was accepted by a trustworthy journal in the criminology field, which is why it has been chosen as a source. Information on the unbearable costs of the DS and the latter’s limited deterrent effect will be used to criticize the punishment’s cost-effectiveness. As a final outcome, the inclusion of this information will strengthen the critique of the DS from the perspective of resource distribution.
Works Cited
“From Death Row to Freedom: 185 Americans since 1972 Have Avoided Executions Because They’ve Been Shown to Be Innocent.” Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
Amnesty International. “The Death Penalty Should Be Abolished.” Criminal Justice, edited by David Haugen and Susan Musser, Greenhaven Press, 2009. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
Ford, Matt. “The Supreme Court Faces a Matter of Life and Death.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2022. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints.
Rancourt, Marc-Antoine, et al. “Is the Death Penalty Debate Really Dead? Contrasting Capital Punishment Support in Canada and the United States.” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, vol. 20, no. 1, 2020, pp. 536-562.
Steiker, Carol S., and Jordan M. Steiker. “The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of the Death Penalty in the United States.” Annual Review of Criminology, vol. 3, 2020, pp. 299-315.