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Chapter 20: Death Penalty
35 states have it, 15 do NOT.
Currently (2010)
--3,261 on death row
--Leading states: Calif: 697; Fla: 398; TX: 337; Penn: 222
(but Calif executed only 10, and Penn has executed only 3 since 1973)
Executions:
Leading states (post furman - since 1976 - through 2010):
total is about 1,233)
(Nine southern states (exludes Missouri): 1,015 = 82 pct
Texas alone: 38 percent; Texas and Virginia combined: abut 46 pct
Texas 463
Virginia 108
Oklahoma 93
Florida 69
Missouri 67
Georgia 48
North Carolina 43
South Carolina 42
Louisiana 28
Arkansas 27
--EXONERATIONS BY YEAR
In the 25 years from 1973 to 1999, there were an average of 3.1 exonerations
per year. In the seven years between 2000 and 2007, that average has risen to
5.1 Exonerations. (NOTE: Texas has had only eight exonerations since 1973)
(Total exonerations in Jan 2010, 138)
In January, '09, about 3,297 on Death Row (Calif leads the nation with 678,
then Florida, with 402. Texas is third: 358
Calif has executed only 10 men.
IN ILLINIOS:
12 have been executed
167 have had their sentences commuted
20 have been exonerated (but less with innocence assured)
12 is my figure - explain
About 15 currently on death row (women = 1 or two)
In FURMAN v. GEORGIA (1972), the court held (5 to 4) that the
death penalty, AS PRACTICED (NOT IN PRINCIPLE) constituted "CRUEL
AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT. It did NOT rule on the constitutionality
as such. The focus was on the STANDARDS by which it was applied.
In response to the Furman decision, 35 states modified their
statutes to comply with FURMAN. These statutes specified
mandatory death sentences for certain crimes and essentially
tried to remove arbitrariness and discretionary nature of it.
in 1976, the GREGG V. GEORGIA case in essence ruled on the
CONSTITUTIONALITY of capital punishment, and ruled that it WAS
constitutional, and WAS recognized as a legitimate punishment by
the early framers of the constitution. The GREGG case involved a
double murder during a robbery, and although other cases (e.g.,
Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek V. Texas, Roberts v. Louisana, Woodson
V. North Carolina) were decided, these were variants of the Gregg
case.
Today, 38 states have the death penalty. (Those that don'include
oregon, nevada, North & South dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Kansas,
Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, W. Virginia).
Illinois has it, and the method is injection, although this is
being challenged in courts. So electrocution is still viable.
How executed:
a) injection (nearly all)
b) Shooting
c) Hanging
d) Electrocution
e) Gas
35 states have the death penalty
(hanging = Montana, Washington, New Hampshire, Delaware (pre-65?)
Since '76, 3 hanged, 2 shot
METHOD
--LETHAL INJECTION PROCEDURE
The procedure for execution by lethal injection is as follows:
The defendant is given a thorough physical examination
sometime prior to the date of execution, including a medical history.
On the date of the execution the defendant is fed his last
meal. Utensils authorized are a plate and a spoon.
A physician consults with the defendant and explains the
execution procedure. The defendant is offered Valium.
The defendant is escorted to the preparation area near the
death chamber and is laid down on a gurney. The gurney has straps
which are used to secure the defendant.
Two IV's are started by qualified medical personnel. One IV is placed in
each arm. A saline solution is started in each IV. Meanwhile, a pharmacist
prepares eight syringes, numbered one through eight.
Syringes numbered one and two contain Sodium Pentathol. The
dosage itself is lethal. This drug is used in surgical settings as
an anaesthetic. It will take effect in a matter of seconds.
Syringe number three contains a saline solution which is used
as a flushing agent.
Syringes four and five contain a lethal dosage of Pancuronium
Bromide which causes paralysis.
Syringe six contains a saline solution which is used as a flushing agent.
In Illinois, we have death by injection
Arguments for:
Why Execute People?
a) Lex Talionis
b) Just deserts (proportionality)
c) Removal (practical issue)
Arguments against:
1) Ethical
2) Proportionality: Is sentence comparable to other
similar sentences for same offense
3) Racial Discrimination
a) Blacks more than whites?
(probably not--depends)
b) When the victim is white (yes)
SOURCES OF BIAS:
1. Circumstances (different jurisdictions, different "meanings,"
rhetorical skills that can frame them as worse, etc
2. Attorney's rhetorical skills in arguing cases
3. Discretion:
a) Prosecutorial
b) Judicial
c) Sentencing procedures
4. Different laws between state/fed jurisdictions lead to
different applications nationally
FOR: a) Republicans; b) Those with lesser education; c) people in
top income categories;
AGAINST: a) South (note the irony that they have the most executions);
b) college graduates; c) lower income or SES categories; d) Blacks;
e) females;
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