Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
Race and the Death Penalty [WLOs: 1, 2, 3] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6]
This discussion focuses on topics addressed in several chapters of your text – the death penalty and discrimination in the United States. Although first discussed in Chapter 2, the death penalty is also discussed in Chapter 4. It is recommended that you review Chapter 4 this week, though you will read the chapter in Week 2. Your initial post should be at least 350 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and at least one other scholarly resource. Please properly cite credible sources in the body of your work and at the end of your work include the minimum of two required references. Consult the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table for assistance. Prior to completing the discussion, please complete your assigned readings and watch the following video, available through the Films on Demand database in the Ashford University Library: Black Death and Dixie: Racism and the Death Penalty in the United States. After reading the text, your scholarly sources, and watching the video, please thoroughly discuss the following questions:
African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the population of the United States yet nearly half (50%) of the incarcerated population is African American. Based on research, which factors may best explain high incarceration rates for African Americans when considering what proportion of the general population is African American?
Based on research, which factors may best explain the high number of African Americans (approximately 42%) on death row in the United States?
Define institutionalized racism and then evaluate whether institutionalized racism is to blame for these high incarceration rates. Please be sure to conduct a thorough analysis of the research in this area and cite credible sources to support your assertions.
Judges in some jurisdictions are elected. Based on your research, is it possible that judges have implicit racial biases that influence their decision making in cases? Please elaborate and cite credible sources that support your assertions.
If a jury who has heard the case recommends a life sentence instead of a death sentence, should a judge be allowed to override the jury’s recommendation of life in prison and instead sentence the defendant to the death? Why or why not?
How can the problem of disproportionate incarceration rates based on race be resolved?
Guided Response: Please read several of your classmates’ initial posts and respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts by Day 7. Your peer responses should focus on the course concepts and be scholarly in nature. As you respond, evaluate the following:
Do you agree with your classmate? Why or why not?
What additional evidence have you found that can support your classmate’s claims?
Be sure to support any opinions you have with credible, scientific evidence
What are the two messages that would be sent by abolishing the death penalty according to Nathanson? How does he reply to the objection that murderers forfeit their right to be respected as human beings? Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not?
Why is deterrence not a decisive factor in the debate about the morality of the death penalty according to van den Haag? Explain your answers. Do you agree with his argument? Why or why not?
Why is “an eye for an eye” an attractive view according to Nathanson? What are the two main problems he raises for this view, and what are the possible replies an advocate of such a view might make?
Death penalty is commonly referred to as the capital punishment which refers to the action taken by the government as sanction to discipline and punish law offenders who have been found guilty of committing crime equitable to death. The government conducts the act in line with the provision of the court of law and order. The execution of the death penalty is termed as death penalty or death punishment. The penalties are normally conducted as punishment. The criminals mostly posted on perpetrators of international and country wars and conflicts and treason activities, regional wars and crimes leading to massive deaths and killings, genocide activities and all sort of crimes against the will and desires of the humanity. In most cases the government executes the death punishment through beheading of the criminals. However, most countries have gone against the death penalty terming it unconstitutional and against the will of the human rights. The European Union has gone further to describe the fundamental rights and termed use and implication of death penalties as violation of human rights. Some countries however still apply the death penalties such as Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan countries to punish the law offenders and criminals. The U.S judicial system has also manipulated the death penalty to safeguard the human rights. I personally oppose corporal death punishment and I support the abolishment of the inhuman act since it ruins and interferes with the human rights.
The death penalty is an infringement of human rights and ought to in this way be annulled. Different types of disciplines ought to be applied as opposed to death retribution. Most nations practice capital punishment on murder, war, fear monger acts or injustice cases (Acker, 2017). A few nations then again do the death penalty on inappropriate behavior and wrongdoings, for example, assault cases, homosexuality activities, incest and detailed infidelity hand with strict violations. Some likewise lead the punishment on tranquilize dealers and traffickers. China executes capital punishment on genuine defilement cases just as human dealers and traffickers. In any case, casualties of weakness and disobedience offenses in military missions face capital punishment.
The death penalty is probably the best infringement of Human Rights. This torment of life is against the Human Rights Charter. Nobody has the privilege to end a real existence, in any event, as indicated by the scriptural implication of life. The brutal and savage act is against God’s instructions and it ought to be exceptionally censured. Human activists consistently restrict the death penalty. It ought to be canceled as it denies the Human Rights under the International Human reprieve (Garrett, B. L. (2019). An equal move ought to be made however not just passing. Detainment of the influenced unfortunate casualties ought to be directed with an end goal to rebuff the lawbreakers. We can generally show suspects and unfortunate casualties without delivering enduring in them all in all. Regard individual flexibility and ownership of life.
The death penalty results into responsibility of treachery by executing honest people wrongly. Not all cases have the vital and enough proof in this way cases have been accounted for on improper execution of guiltless individuals to confront capital punishment. Imagine a scenario where executions are begun against the initiators and propellers of capital punishment by human activists. In the United States for example, somewhere in the range of 1992 and 2004, thirty nine demise executions were led without full proof (Ulmer.et.al, 2019). The unfortunate casualties were not especially seen as liable rather advantage of uncertainty was utilized to give the decision. Nonetheless, the recently designed DNA tests issue some proof before the last execution has reinstalled trust in the lives of unfortunate casualties. The confirmations from DNA tests have forestalled untimely execution of around fifteen demise cases promptly it was created and demonstrated. As of now, more than one – hundred and fifty nine detainees have gotten away ‘passing barely’ because of no proof by DNA (Stinneford, 2018). Numerous obscure cases are additionally accepted to exist since not generally the exploited people can pay for the DNA or even the obstruction of the outcomes along these lines coming about into an inappropriate execution. Safeguard faculty consistently focus their endeavors on the customers who have their lives spared instead of focusing on expanding odds of endurance of the ‘demise’ respondents. Unseemly executions can be because of inappropriate court methods. For example, the contention about the abuse of the Drugs Act in Singapore by the Amnesty universal expresses that; suppositions were utilized for indictment. There was no reasonable confirmation. There is a widespread assurance of guiltlessness until an injured individual is seen as blameworthy (Franklin , 2016).
According to the case for Rodney Reed regardless of the evidence provided on innocence, it was evident that no matter what criminal action had been undertaken, the judicial systems needed to obey the human rights. The background of the case was where Mr. Reed was punished following the flow of the new evidences provided in the court of law. His execution was expected to be steady and not cruel not to undermine and limit the provisions of the rule of law. Following Reed’s and other prisoners appeal letter through what is commonly referred to as the friend of the court, they appeared before the jurisdiction. Rodney Reed had been the main suspect for the killing of Stacey Stites who was aged 19 years by the year 1996. She had been raped and dumped across the road at Bastrop. After years of investigations and DNA tests, it was evident that the sperms collected inside the body were linked to Mr. Reed.
Capital punishment is a for the most part a discipline directed principally to exploited people from racial and ethnic minorities and other poor monetary foundations than just to all lawbreakers. The blade cuts just the less favored, for instance, passing cases rotating about African Americans are increasingly inclined to confront capital punishments and the dark litigants are bound to confront capital punishment in cases including white exploited people.
Areas have made feelings intended to forbid capital punishments. For example, the sixth Protocol and the thirteenth Protocol intended to abrogate harmony and different conditions individually were laid out under the European Convention on Human rights were intended to forestall capital punishments. Then again the second Protocol offered agree to America and Canada to annul capital punishment (Garrett, B. L., & Kovarsky, L. B. (2018). Different associations in the universal organization have improved the nullification of capital punishment. The EU censures the capital punishments in European nations with the exception of in Russia however capital punishment cases are uncommon since 1996. The convention nullifies any type of capital punishment which has been marked by practically all nations in Europe. As of late, Poland has acknowledged to sign the bargain to abrogate the death penalty.
Some African nations inside the Sub-Saharan district have additionally clung to nullification of capital punishment. In 2009, Burundi canceled all capital punishments regardless of what wrongdoing, Gabon likewise abrogated capital punishment in 2010 and on 2012, and Benin watched the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights by sanctioning the Protocol on capital punishment (Ulmer, J. T., & Hanrath, L. (2019). Practically all nations have expressed a cancelation of this punishment, even the most up to date nation the South Sudan is among the one hundred and eleven individuals from the United Nations association who completely confirm and bolster the expulsion of capital punishment as concurred by the organs General Assembly. The individuals marked duplicates of the adherence bargain to end and forestall any capital punishment regardless of what wrongdoing and offers a counter strategy for managing violations of death.
In conclusion, the death penalty is against humankind and instead some other lighter punishments should be adopted. The enforcements should include imprisonment, forgiving them and issuing them with new advisory roles in the community to act as ambassadors and guidance and counselling personnel to warn and educate others against crime in the society. I would like to propose immediate implementations of the alternatives in the constitutions and rule of laws for various countries especially the ones who still retain capital punishments. All in all, it is against the Human Rights, Amnesty International, and other universal associations to execute capital punishment to any injured individual rather different disciplines ought to be authorized like detainment. It is in this manner pivotal to look out for such allegations consequently non-legislative associations and human activists ought to be on bleeding edge to forestall any infringement. A few nations anyway still apply the capital punishments, for example, Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan nations to rebuff the law wrongdoers and criminals which is against the United States of America Judicial Systems and the rule of law. I for one contradict corporal demise discipline and I bolster the abolishment of the brutal capital punishment (death penalty) since it ruins and meddles with the human rights.
References
Acker, J. R. (2017). Scrutinizing the death penalty: State death penalty study commissions and their recommendations. In The death penalty today (pp. 45-76). CRC Press.
Schabas, W. A. (2019). International law and the abolition of the death penalty. In Comparative Capital Punishment. Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429027765-1
Stinneford, J. (2018). Original Meaning and the Death Penalty. University of St. Thomas Journal of Law and Public Policy, 13(1), 44.
Ulmer, J. T., & Hanrath, L. (2019). Disparities in Death Penalty Prosecution and Punishment: A Review of Recent Research and an Expanded Agenda. In Handbook on Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century (pp. 254-280). Routledge. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429027765-13
Ulmer, J. T., Kramer, J. H., & Zajac, G. (2019). The Race of Defendants and Victims in Pennsylvania Death Penalty Decisions: 2000–2010. Justice Quarterly, 1-29. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2019.1679865