1. The Death Penalty By Sana Karim and Ellen Piehl

2. Eighth Amendment “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”

3. Facts US is the only English-speaking Western democracy that still practices the death penalty 35 states have the death penalty 1232 executions in the US since 1973

4. History European settlers brought capital punishment First recorded execution in 1608 1612 Divine, Moral and Martial Laws Laws varied from colony to colony

5. History 1632 – Jane Champion becomes first woman executed in colonies Late 1700s- American abolitionist movement begins Early 1800s – States reduce their numbers of capital crimes

6. History 1907-1917 – 9 states abolish the death penalty 1920s-1940s – Abolitionist movement loses support 1930s – executions reach highest levels in history Francis v. Resweber

7. History 1948 - UN adopts Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1950-1980 – abolition becomes the norm in western Europe 1958 – Trop v. Dulles 1966 – support of capital punishment reaches all-time low

8. History 1968 – Witherspoon v. Illinois 1972 – Furman v. Georgia –Death penalty suspended 1976 – Gregg v. Georgia –Death penalty reinstated 1986 – Ford v. Wainwright

9. History 1987 – McCleskey v. Kemp 1988 – Thompson v. Oklahoma 1989 – Penry v. Lynaugh 1993 – Herrera v. Collins 1994 – Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act 2005 – Roper v. Simmons

10. Pro Death Penalty “If we execute murderers and there is in fact no deterrent effect, we have killed a bunch of murderers. If we fail to execute murderers, and doing so would in fact have deterred other murders, we have allowed the killing of a bunch of innocent victims. I would much rather risk the former. This, to me, is not a tough call." - John McAdams

11. Deterrence Death penalty deters other criminals Estimated that each state execution deters between 4 and 25 murders per year Results from the announcement of capital punishment State Executions, Deterrence, and the Incidence of Murder by Paul Zimmerman

12. Justice Provides justice and retribution for victims and families “An eye for an eye” view Provides closure

13. Punishment Life in prison is a more cruel and unusual punishment than death Life in prison provides no chance of a future Life in prison does not prevent escapes

14. Overcrowding in Prisons Death penalty helps decrease overcrowding in prisons Many prisons more than 33% over their official capacities 2.4 million prisoners in US US has highest documented incarceration rate in the world –754/100,000 people http://usgovinfo.about. com/cs/censusstatistic/ a/aaprisonpop.htm

15. Pro Death Penalty Groups Justice For All Throw Away the Keys National Center for Policy Analysis Idea House: Capital Punishment

16. Anti Death Penalty

17. Innocence Possibility of innocence 139 exonerations since 1973 Average of 3.1 exonerations a year 1973-1999 Average of 5 exonerations a year 2000-2007 http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org /innocence-and-death-penalty

18. Exonerations http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org /innocence-and-death-penalty

19. Costs California - $90,000 more a year to keep a man on death row Cost of current death row system is $137 million annually Cost of system with only maximum life sentences would be $11.5 million annually http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

20. Costs Defendants with lower representation costs more likely to receive death penalty 44% chance of death penalty with costs under $320,000 19% chance of death penalty with costs over $320,000 http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/costs-death-penalty

21. Race System tainted with racial bias Defendants more likely to receive death penalty if victim is white 80% of cases submitted by federal prosecutors for death penalty review in the past five years have involved racial minorities as defendants http://www.deathpenaltyi nfo.org/race-and-death- penalty

22. Race http://www.deathpenaltyi nfo.org/race-and-death- penalty

23. Race http://www.deathpenaltyi nfo.org/race-and-death- penalty

24. Race http://www.hrw.org/backgr ounder/usa/incarceration/

26. Deterrence Murder rates in states without death penalty consistently lower than rates in states with death penalty 10 of 12 states without death penalty have lower than average homicide rates 1/2 states with penalty have higher than average rates http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states- without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower- murder-rates

27. Arbitrariness Lack of uniformity in capital punishment system Ineffective guidelines Opportunity to fall back on prejudices Juror problems and failures

28. Anti Death Penalty Groups Amnesty International The Moratorium Campaign Witness to Innocence Students Against the Death Penalty Equal Justice USA

29. Republicans “Courts must have the option of imposing the death penalty in capital murder cases and other instances of heinous crime, while federal review of those sentences should be streamlined to focus on claims of innocence and to prevent delaying tactics by defense attorneys.” (RNC, gop.com)

30. Democrats Less supportive of death penalty Believe death penalty must not be arbitrary Support extensive use of DNA testing Support providing adequate counsel

31. Constitution Party Support states’ right to choose death penalty as an option Only support death penalty for capital crimes –Death penalty only applied in cases where there has been a threat to innocent life

32. Public Opinion Polls

36. Recent Developments 7 states have proposed bills to abolish the death penalty 3 states have abandoned death penalty in past 3 years 2009 bill introduced to abolish federal death penalty Bills to expand death penalty have been struck down http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/recent -legislative-activity#2010