Death Penalty Class Questions

What aspects of the stages in a capital case are designed to protect the rights of the accused? Do you believe that this system is sufficient to guarantee that only the guilty are convicted?

For one, even though each state goes through a seperate judgment of the accused, each trial is conducted in the same fashion. This protects the rights of the accused effectively and I believe helps to prevent any sorts of premeditated bias. Also, and a very important part, is that each juror on the case is rigorously examined. Each juror must prove to be, “death qualified,” i.e., questioned about their ability to consider both aggravating and mitigating evidence and to render a death sentence in an appropriate case. This is extremely important to the overall fairness of the trial and the overall right conservation of the accused. Finally, some states allow for clemency in which after a trial has been completed and the accused has been punished the state's governor or the President can reduce the penalties of the accused. Clearly it is not sufficient to gaurantee that only the guilty are convicted because innocent men have been put on death row and innocent men have been executed.

Which of these (if any) are the most humane? Should any be considered “cruel and unusual” according to the 8th Amendment? If so which? Why?

It is very hard to call any humane but I would have to argue that the lethal injection strategy would make the most sense. What I like about this strategy is that it is not up to one person to execute the accused. This is similiar to the firing range. The conscious of killing a fellow man is not thrown upon one person and pushed onto the remainder of their lives. This is similiar with the firing squad, but withe the firing squad I really do not think it is okay that the chance for a slow, painful death is extremely eminent. The chance of missing the heart and hitting a different vital organ or really anything si very large. "Bleeding to death slowly," does not seem to be an "ethical" way to kill a human being. Though the gas chamber method was ruled Cruel and Unusual Punishment as of March 3, 1999, I believe that all of these methods are both cruel and unusual. The death penalty should be simply letting someone die, because everybody dies eventually. So let him sit in a room alone with his haunting thoughts until he stops breathing, that is closer to justice.

What sorts of conclusions can you draw from this data? What does the state by state data tell us about how the death penalty is used? What regional or other trends do you see? What might this data tell us about issues of equality, arbitrariness,and justice?

The first conclusion drawn from this data is a general and simple one, but often overlooked, the majority of states supports the death penalty. This is against my belief, and it is a bit disappointing for me to see that my view is clearly in the minority. Another interesting set of data is that the majority of sentenced death row prisoners are black. This is where the conversation gets touchy because we do not want to be called racists, which I pride myself on not being, but this is still interesting. I think that racism will always exist, and there is virtually nothing we can do to eliminate it completely. So yes, I would have to feel that there is some sort of racism in the justice system, there must be. Along with this idea is the male versus female ratio. Significantly more men are sentenced to the death penalty, but I think that this is just human nature. Men have violent tendencies that many women do not. Then again there are many women sentenced to the death penalty which turn that whole question around entirely. One interesting thing I noticed is how the sentences are distributed generally across the nation. Each coast is heavy with sentences but the center of the land does not seem to be nearly as heavy. Im not completely sure what to make of this but it strikes me as intriguing. 

How many aggravating factors are listed that might have led to the death penalty?  What do you think of them? ? Should the crimes listed have death as a potential punishment? Why or why not? Go to the state by state data and click on Illinois to see more about the current status of the death penalty in Illinois. Does the data tell you anything about why the Illinois death penalty is no longer in effect? If not, make an inference.

There are 21 aggravating factors that are listed in the statute. Some of them are a little bit out there and ridiculous but I believe they are necessary in solidifying the fairness and justice of the death penalty. No crime should have death as the penalty though. To me it is not right, and it is even a bit medieval. It is not the right way to deal with society's problems and it is a waste of a human life. 
The website does not tell why Illinois has stopped with the death penalty I would have to infer that it is because 20 innocent persons have been freed from death row in the past. This is troubling to think that that many people could be falsely sentenced to death, gosh. 

How does the information here influence your previous responses? What does this data say about the economics of the death penalty? What does the data say about the influence of race on the death penalty? What does the data say about public opinion for the death penalty? What does the data say about innocence?  About deterrence?  Looking at the information overall, what point of view would you say that the Death Penalty Information center has? Is it convincing? Why or why not? What additional information would you like?

The death penalty is not an economically sound way of conducting justice. Millions of dollars are put into cases and that is simply ridiculous to me. The data regarding race actually contradicts some of popular belief. More whites have been executed, and more whites are sentenced to death currently, this is intriguing. This seems to be a punch to the gut against any racist against blacks. The most striking part is the first graph, showing the generally steady decline of executions. This proves the overall decrease in approval and actually going through with the executions. Only 33% of the population said that the death penalty was the best way to eliminate crime, which I am glad to see. It is refreshing to see how many people share a similar view to mine, though it may not be exactly the same that is okay. Going back to the issue of innocence, this data claims that 130 inmates have been pardoned from execution due to being innocent. This is the part that is hard for me to grasp. I just cant imagine being on the cusp of death, saying my goodbyes and then being told im pardoned. Its not fair. I think overall this website has a pretty negative and critical view on the death penalty. To me it is extremely convincing and all of the charts make perfect sense, but that may just be my bias. I would like to see more public surveys and collected information regarding the overall opinion of the country on the death penalty. I have seen which states support it but I want to know about the average Joe and how it strikes him.

Technology In the Classroom: An Epic Failure

In the 21st century speed is everything. We strive to be the first, the best, but most of all the fastest. Each time a new iPhone comes out what does it claim? To be faster than the previous phone. We, as a society, want to get where we are going as fast as possible, without any speed bumps along the way. This is why having "Smart-Boards" and iPads' in the classroom was initially a good idea. It is a great way to get kids involved in the otherwise boring information such as Trigonometry. It puts a "fun" spin on learning subjects that the majority of seniors in high school would never call fun.

Heres the problem: the teachers do not know how to use the stupid things. Ever since 7th grade pre Algebra I can clearly remember having a teacher who was so committed to her Smart-Board, but she did not know how to use it. She would spend a significant chunk of each day assuring herself that it was completely necessary for her teaching, which it certainly was not. That time was wasted. It could have been spent in a productive way, like maybe actually teaching her students the material as she had the previous 20 or so years without the board. Even as a senior in high school my math teacher thinks that using this board will get us involved. Im sorry, but a bunch of seniors in Trig and Related Topics are not going to be excited by some program on the Smart-Board in which we can drag the side of a triangle and see how the angle measure changes with the side. It was initially a good idea, a great one even, but it has been executed poorly. And don't even start me on the new calculator.

The Modern Guillotine

They take you from your jail cell at a scheduled time, it is time to die. You walk past the people you have been living with for years, awaiting this day. You take the long drive from your prison to the Death House; a building especially for executions. While there is no guillotine, the death penalty is just as barbaric and wrong as it was during the days of the Salem Witch Trials. This may be because of my trying to give everybody a second chance, or my seeing the good in people, but I do not believe that the death penalty should be legal anywhere. I mean really, who has the right to sentence somebody to death?

Nobody, thats my answer. I do not see who anybody can decide who lives and who dies, the whole things comes off as inappropriate to me. This is such a hard topic to discuss thought. I have never been directly affected by the death penalty but when we watch the, "Clifford Bogges," video in class my heart skips a beat. It's sad, its confusing, and its not right. Here the real complication. If somebody were to ask me, "So you don't think that Hitler deserved to die?" Im not exactly sure what i would say. Yes, of course he deserved to die, a painful death at that, but is the death penalty the right answer? I say no. Instead, lets let them rot in prison until they die, and bury them in the prison graveyard. It sounds cruel, and it is, but i think it is a much better option then just killing away our problems. Also, what kind of an example do we make as people when we punish killing by killing. Does that really make any sense? No parts of the death penalty make sense to me, and that is why I am in complete opposition with it's entirety.

Miley Cyrus: Underbelly Devil or Hidden Angel

It is impossible to watch the news or basically any TV without coming across a Miley Cyrus. I listen to teachers and peers critiquing her on a daily basis. But personally, I believe that what she is doing is fine. When people call her talentless that bugs me, this is because we are still talking about what she did months ago, we talk about her non-stop. I don't think she is either an underbelly devil or a hidden angel, she is her own definition, she is Miley. It is impossible to call her either of the two because she is doing exactly what she wants, and using her own. That is something that little girls can look up to, and admire with Miley.

People say that she is a bad influence on the youth. After all, she does publically endorse smoking, drinking, and having sex. In "23" Miley sings over and over, "I'm in the club high off purp with some shades on/ Tatted up, mini skirt with my J's on." This is by no means the correct message to be sending to these children with such great potential. This is why I am so conflicted over her. She sends 2 very opposing messages. 1) It is okay to smoke or do drugs. 2) It is okay to be yourself, and do as you please. Overall, I have this sort of shameful respect for her. What she is doing is very hard, she takes criticism from almost everybody around her and ignores it. This shows how morally strong she must be. Granted, she would be so much easier to respect if she just kept her tongue in her mouth and put some clothes on.

Precaution Trumps Prevention

At an unnamed High school, my student body was receiving the "7 Reasons To Leave A Party" attack. We were being told something that we have heard over and over since the 4th grade. To quote the great Mr. Mackey, from the TV show South Park, "Drugs are bad, mkay." As silly as this sounds, it is ridiculous how much we have to hear about this. I understand its importance, but naturally resist its presentation. A friend made a fantastic point to me: Health class originally taught abstinence but soon realized that kids would never start having sex. So, they did something start and started teaching safe sex. They have admitted defeat in some way, but are still fighting just as much. They should take the same precautions with drugs, marijuana and alcohol in particular. Given our opportunities, the youth will always partake in these activities. So lets not try to achieve the unachievable. Educate how to handle an emergency, or how to take care of friends in danger. This is the best response, education, not a ridiculous attempt at prevention.

Another thing happened: A student was removed for voicing his opinion. The presentation was over, and the entire presentation was open to questioning. The presenter made this choice. So, a respectable peer said, "I want to thank you guys for taking time out of your day and educating us on our functioning legal system," or something along those lines. This immediately made me think about Evan Earl, and his group voicing there opinions at school. I drew pretty clear connections. But there were differences as well. The student here was called on, he was not by any means interrupting the presentation. And more importantly, what we was saying was in a completely stoic voice. There was no sarcasm in his voice, but it could have been argued that there was sarcasm in his answer. He was removed immediately and given a detention. Now, were they right to remove him? Yes I would say. But did he deserve any imposing punishment after? NO. By the school interpreting his answer in a sarcastic way, they are placing him and his personality inside of a box. I see this is as profiling and that is a serious topic that the school needs to take a long, deep, serious look at. It is only fair to the students.