Crime, Punishment and Debate on the Death Penalty

CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND THE CREATION OF ORDER How does society establish systems of order for the production of consent?

Discipline and Punish At first, discipline was invoked as a spectacle by Kingship to neutralize abnormal populations…. By the 19th century discipline was asked to play a more positive role primarily to increase the utility of individuals. It played this role through the modern prison. Michel Foucault (1975)

Hogarth / Tyburn Gallows (1747)

Contemporary Execution

Contemporary Execution Firing Squad (Utah)

8 TH AMENDMENT (1787) BASIC PRINCIPLE: No Person shall be subject to Cruel and Unusual Punishment

14 TH Amendment (1868) 2 Basic Principles 1) Due Process 2)Equal Protection

DEATH PENALTY IN U.S. “Spectacle” eliminated and replaced with “retribution.” Responses to crime in the U.S. have oscillated between poles of retribution and rehabilitation. “Innocence frame” is weakening support for retribution as a response to crime.

Landmark Legal Cases Furman v. Georgia (408 U.S. 238 / 1972) Held that death penalty statutes resulted in arbitrary sentencing violating constitutional protections Gregg v. Georgia (428 U.S. 153 / 1976) Enabled states to refashion death penalty statutes to conform to Constitution

Total # of U.S. Executions ( ) 15,269 total

Historical Executions by Race ( ) 15,269 Total Executions

Last updated April 24, 2014 following an execution in Florida Total since 1976 (including 2014): 1378 Executions in 2013: 39 Executions in 2014: 19 Executions in 2012: 43

12 States Without The Death Penalty Alaska Michigan West Virginia West Virginia Hawaii Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa North Dakota North Dakota - Plus Maine Rhode Island Rhode Island District of Columbia District of Columbia Massachusetts Vermont Puerto Rico Puerto Rico

Death Penalty as Deterrent

WHAT CASES GO AS CAPITAL CASES?

RACE OF VICTIMS In Executions # Executions 1547 Race of Victims WHITE 1225 (80%) BLACK 218 (14%) HISPANIC 72 (4%) OTHER 32 (2%)

RACE OF DISTRICT ATTORNEYS

Death Penalty Public Opinion

Top Execution Countries ( ) 6 Countries account For 95% of Executions 1) China 9188 (63%) 2) Iran 3360 (23%) 3) S. Arabia 668 (4.5%) 4) Iraq 607 (4%) 5) Pakistan 497 (3.3%) 6) US 322 (2.1%)

International Geography of Death Penalty Dark Green – Abolished (102 Countries) Light Green – Abolished but used only in exceptional Circumstances (7 counties) Tan – Not Used in Practice or Currently Under Moratorium (51 countries) Red – Countries Using Death Penalty (36 countries)

Capital Punishment: A Social Movement

Catholic Church / “Thou shall not Kill” “The commandment ‘Do not kill’ holds absolute value and applies to both the innocent and the guilty,… I propose to all who are Catholic to make a courageous and exemplary gesture: may no execution sentence be carried out in this Holy Year of Mercy.” Pope Francis (March, 2016)

Exonerations by Year ( ) (156 Total)

Exonerations by State (156 Total) Florida and Illinois Lead

Race of Exonerations Defendent Black81 (52%) White 61 (39%) Latino12 (7.6%) Other 2 (1.2%)

“Rate of False Conviction of Defendants Sentenced to Death” “We estimate that if all death-sentenced defendants remained under sentence of death indefinitely, at least 4.1% would be exonerated. We conclude that this is a conservative estimate of the proportion of false conviction among death sentences in the U.S.” Samuel R. Gross, Barbara O’Brien, Chen Hu, and Edward H. Kennedy (2014) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Troy Davis After a hearing on September 19, the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency to Troy Davis, despite presentation of testimony casting doubt on his guilt. Davis's claims of innocence received international attention, and calls for clemency have been made by Pope Benedict XVI, former President Jimmy Carter, former Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Norman Fletcher and others. Doubts about Davis's guilt were raised when some prosecution witnesses changed their stories after giving testimony against Davis, including accusations pointing to another suspect as the murderer of a police officer in Savannah. The Board heard testimony from a juror in Davis's original trial who now says she has too much doubt about his guilt and would change her verdict. They also heard from a witness who originally testified against Davis, but recanted her testimony. The Board held two previous clemency hearings for Davis, but the makeup of the Board had changed since he was denied clemency in 2008, and new testimony had been given at a federal court hearing in Davis was executed late on September 21, 2011.

THE EU AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT The European Union is opposed to the use of capital punishment under all circumstances and has consistently called for the universal abolition of this punishment…. We consider this punishment to be cruel and inhumane.

PERSONS EXECUTED FOR INTERRACIAL MURDERS IN THE U.S. SINCE 1976 White Defendant / Black Victim (15) Black Defendant / White Victim (223)

QUESTION How does the media participate in the production of a dissenting frame on the creation of order and the fairness of capital punishment?

Political Campaigns, Media and the Death Penalty

Tone of Capital Punishment Stories

Geography of Executions / Public Opinion