Introduction
The article “The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of the Death Penalty in the United States” examines the past, present, and possible future of capital punishment in the United States. Steiker and Steiker try to explain why America has maintained the death penalty after much of the Western world moved away from it (300). The authors cite different scientific accounts that point to the influence of various factors such as idiosyncratic political institutions and a cultural preference for retribution (Steiker and Steiker 301). They emphasize the continued significance of America’s racial history, indicating that the disproportionate deployment of the death penalty against blacks sustains a historical pattern of discrimination (Steiker and Steiker 307). The article attributes the recent decline in capital punishment in the United States to growing political support for abolitionism (Steiker and Steiker 308). The authors conclude that the abolition of the death penalty is feasible (Steiker and Steiker 310). However, they believe that it would not address more deep-seated problems in the criminal justice system related to racial injustice.
Main body
The chapter has a different focus compared to the article, providing an overview of the arguments for and against the death penalty. It recognizes the anomalous nature of capital punishment retention in the United States but does not examine its reasons (Manias and Monroe 410). Like the article, the chapter discusses the disproportionate racial impact of the death penalty; however, it also indicates that the economic disparity maybe even more significant (Manias and Monroe 415). The article effectively takes an abolitionist stance by pointing out that capital punishment in the United States cannot provide retribution or deterrence, given its increasing unpopularity (Steiker and Steiker 313). Unlike the article, the chapter does not take sides between the two perspectives, implying that the death penalty may, in theory, serve the purposes advocated by retentionists.
Conclusion
I found the article very interesting because it places the question of capital punishment in several broader contexts. The historical context includes the complicated evolution of capital punishment and its specific character in America. Its sociological context revolves around deeply-seated racial disparities in American society. Finally, capital punishment is also closely connected to other criminal punishment issues such as mass incarceration. I think that all of those contexts need to be considered when examining the question of whether and how the death penalty should be abolished, as it is a part of a larger system.
Works Cited
Manias, Nicholas, and Dave Monroe. The Moral Compass: An Introductory Guide to Critical Thinking and Applied Ethics. McGraw-Hill, 2020.
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. Web.