Death Penalty #3

There are various aspects in a capital case that are designed to protect the rights of the accused. For example, the initial step in a criminal prosecution when the defendant is able to make a plea. The defendant has the opportunity to speak honestly and openly. Whatever they may plea, will be recorded accurately so that there are no misunderstandings. The preliminary hearing also protects the rights of the accused because they examine the evidence to see if it is sufficient enough.  A defendant cannot be convicted if there is minimal evidence; this step helps to understand the evidence that is being used against the defendant. Furthermore, the grand jury ultimately decides if the indictments should be issued.  The juries are decided in a way to eliminate biases. The defendant is given a fair and equal; trial. All these steps help to make sure that only the guilty are convicted. I believe this system is successful because it thoroughly goes through all the evidence. In addition, the jurors decide the sentence meaning that the defendant is receiving a fair trial. Although these steps are sufficient, I believe that there is always something else that can be done in order to guarantee that only the guilty are convicted. In this case, it may be re-examining the evidence even more times. The system needs to ensure that only the guilty are convicted.

I was shocked by the various methods that are used for the death sentence. Some people discuss the death sentence very casually. However, I do not think they realize what exactly the death penalty, itself, involved. While I believe many are cruel and unusual, I believe the most humane is the lethal injection. There are no gun shots, nor electric chair. Rather, two needles (one is a back-up) are then inserted into usable veins, usually in the inmate’s arms. Out of the 38 states which allow the death penalty, 37 use this technique. I believe this proves that it is the most human;  it is widely accepted. To be completely honest, I believe that all the other techniques including hanging, firing squad, electrocution, and gas chamber should be considered cruel and unusual punishments. I had no idea that these were the different techniques and I believe they are violation of the 8th amendment. Specifically, I believe the gas chamber is one of the worst. It reminds me of the idea of the ways Jews were executed in the Nazi camps. The hanging also really strikes me as being cruel and unusual. It reminds me of pictures I have seen from slavery in history class.  I think that America can rise above this; we can do better than this.

I learned that 14 states are currently using the death penalty.  One of the statistics that struck me was that out of 3264, 1099 were actually executed. In other words, while over 70% of states allow a death sentence, many have barely used it. For example, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, South Dakota and more only have issued the death penalty once. In Kansas and New Hampshire, it has not been used at all. In several regions, all of the states allow the death penalty. However, bordering states of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan do not allow the death penalty. In addition, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island do not allow the death penalty. This becomes an issue of justice. If a defendant happens to have committed the crime in one of the 14 states that does not allow the death penalty, their sentence is not equal to those who are in a different state. That being said, every crime is different and must be examined individually. The death penalty does vary, but I believe that there should remain consistency throughout all the states.

This information impacts what I have just learned because there are several changes. For instance, now there are 15 states who do not use the death penalty. It is interesting to see that there was steady increase of executions from 1976-1993. However, from 1994 to 2010, there has been several increase and decreased. The death penalty was used the most in 1999 with a total of 98 executions. That was over 10 years ago, and since then there has not been nearly as many.  I was shocked that over 75% of the murder victims in cases resulting  inexecution were white, even though nationally only 50% of murder victims generally are white. This demonstrates the idea that race does influence the sentence. However, in the race of the defendant executed, it remains relatively similar among white and blacks.  There have been 266 more white executions than black which appears as a relatively small difference to me. It concerns me that 139 defendants were placed on death row when they were innocent. However, I learned that many of these inmates who were innocent is based of of legal technicalities. In addition, the fact that they were released shows that once someone is on death row, it is not the end all, be all. The system was able to find the innocent people and release them.  Nevertheless, I am sure there are currently defendants that are also innocent. Since 1994, public support has decreased as the May 2006 Gallup Poll found that overall support of the death penalty was 65%. I believe that Death Penalty Information has significant information to be examined. It provides information worth knowing and I believe it presents the facts to reveal how the death penalty support has decreased and that it should not be used. Furthermore, there a lot of innocent people who have been released from death row.

Death Penalty #1

I believe that Clifford Boggess should have been executed.  It is undeniable that Boggess lived an extremely difficult childhood consisting of unstable familial relationships. He did not have it easy. Some may argue that Boggess's abuse caused him great distress. While this is true, it is untrue to say that the emotional stress he faced led him to commit the crime. He even admits that he was completely aware during the time of both murders. If he was psychologically insane, then he would not have been able to admit that he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew what he was doing was wrong. Furthermore, both of his murders were extremely violent and brutal. Once the victim was already dead, Boggess continued to act aggressively. Boggess did not just kill once; he killed twice.  I believe that people do have the ability to change after a crime of this sort. However, I believe that Boggess did not change. He claims that he has changed as a Christian and an artist, but I believe that he is masking is true self. Boggess talks very openly of his murders. While this demonstrates his honesty, the graphic images he conveys are very gruesome. He talks very briefly of the guilt he feels and shows little remorse. It is as if he feels that he is better than everyone and had the right to do what he did. In addition, he always appears very cheerful which makes me feel that his talk of being  apologetic to the families is an act. Boggess did not deserve to live a life in the prison nor out of prison. He asserts that he is a better person now. Still, I believe strongly that his life has nor value. He is saying things and acting in certain ways that people want to hear.  It is tough to determine whether the victims' families got justice after Boggess was executed because I was not in their same position. I believe that the only people who can say whether or not they feel that justice was served by executing Boggess is the victim's family. According the video, they appeared relieved that he was no longer living. While they will never get their loved ones back, they do not have to feel any sense of threat. They deserve to feel safe after such a terrible crime has been committed.