Chapter 36

The Death Penalty

 Chapter Objectives
• Describe the role of religious and activist
groups in the capital punishment debate.
• Explain why the death penalty has become
such an emotional topic in the administration
of justice in the United States.
• Examine how states differ in their capital
punishment laws.
 Introduction
• Capital punishment is a highly controversial
topic that raises many important questions: Is
the death penalty morally wrong? Is it an
effective punishment? Is it cruel and unusual?
Is it consistently used across the country? For
prison and jail administrators, capital
punishment raises many other questions
about the details of housing and caring for
inmates sentenced to death.
 A Brief History
• The history of capital punishment goes back to
start of the earliest human cultures. Most
punishments were intended to inflict pain as
well as death (i.e., stoning, whipping, boiling).
• In the early United States, such punishments
evolved to executions by hanging,
electrocution, or firing squad.
 A Brief History (cont.)
• There are five methods currently used in the United States:
– Lethal injection
– Electrocution
– Lethal gas
– Firing squad
– Hanging
• Newer execution methods allow the government to
execute criminals in the most civilized and humane
manner, with the least amount of suffering, which means,
in most states, lethal injection.
 A Brief History (cont.)
• Between 1976 and 2011, the number of executions
in the United States was 1,265.
• Particular problems noted with the electric chair
have encouraged the development of new methods
of executions.
• While some states (such as Michigan, Rhode Island,
Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Maine) abolished the
death penalty in the early 1900s, other states
abolished the death penalty only to reinstate it later.
 A Brief History (cont.)
• In addition to 37 states using the death penalty the
federal government and the U.S. military use the
death penalty as well.
• After the Supreme Court articulated a new standard
in the 1970s for the use of the death penalty, states
returned to a greater use of the death penalty as
their ultimate sanction.
• From 1930 through the 1950s, those who were
sentenced to death were generally executed
promptly.
 A Brief History (cont.)
• In the 1960s, executions slowed dramatically as
courts became more involved in this arena, and
death row inmates often exercised lengthy appeals.
This trend culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s
ruling in Furman v. Georgia (1972) that capital
punishment was cruel and unusual.
– In Furman, the Court held that the decision to execute
as a punishment was not applied fairly to all
defendants. As a result of this ruling, the death penalty
was annulled in 39 states.
 A Brief History (cont.)
• In the 1960s, executions slowed dramatically as courts
became more involved in this arena, and death row
inmates often exercised lengthy appeals. This trend
culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Furman v.
Georgia (1972) that capital punishment was cruel and
unusual (cont.).
– Many jurisdictions rewrote their sentencing laws to deal with the
issue of arbitrariness.
– In 1976, the first test of the new laws came before the Court in
Gregg v. Georgia. Although the Supreme Court ruled against
mandating the death penalty for certain crimes, the guidelines
for juries to follow were approved. This became a model for
other states.
 Arguments Against the Death Penalty

• As the death penalty in the United States has

become more prevalent, so has the
controversy surrounding it by those who
disagree with its use. Some popular
arguments against the death penalty include:
– Long waits on death row
– Unclear qualifications – the lack of clarity around
who qualifies for the death penalty
– Complexity of Appeals
Arguments Against the Death Penalty (cont.)

• As the death penalty in the United States has become

more prevalent, so has the controversy surrounding it
by those who disagree with its use. Some popular
arguments against the death penalty include (cont.):
– High Financial Cost – the cost of extended legal review
– Racial discrimination
– Limited effect on deterrence
– Failure of legal representation
– Unfair application based on location of crime
– Wrongful execution
 Support for Capital Punishment
• Supporters of the death penalty generally subscribe to
the following arguments:
– Death penalty advocates argue that although every life should
be valued and every American is guaranteed due process of
law by the Fourteenth Amendment, this right does not confer
the power to enjoy a “super due process,” or seemingly
endless appeals
– Deterrence - because death is the ultimate sanction a court
can deliver, some believe that those criminals who consider
the consequences of committing certain acts will certainly
refrain rather than become a member of the death row
population
 Support for Capital Punishment (cont.)

• Supporters of the death penalty generally

subscribe to the following arguments (cont.):
– The death penalty is a just punishment for those
who have taken life – retribution
– Some people contend that the death penalty
comforts the families of victims, giving them a
sense of relief and greater peace of mind
 Death Row Operations
• Condemned inmates in U.S. penal facilities
spend many years on death row. The average
inmate spends 147 months (12.25 years) on
death row before being executed.
• Each correctional system must consider how to
house and treat these inmates. Prison
administrators must decide if they will place
these individuals with the general population
or operate a separate death row housing area.
 Death Row Operations (cont.)
• Several states have elected to mainstream
their death-sentenced inmates and allow
them to participate fully in general population
work, education, recreation, and other
program opportunities.
• Most state correctional agencies have
developed separate death row operations.
 The Emotional Ordeal of an Execution

• Correctional administrators have expressed

concern about the emotional toll that carrying
out the death penalty takes on the staff.
• For most, even ardent supporters of the death
penalty, it is extremely difficult to participate
in an execution without experiencing personal
trauma. As such, participating staff should be
selected carefully.
The Emotional Ordeal of an Execution (cont.)
• This selection process often involves staff who volunteer
for the task, with final selection made based on their
experience and ability.
– Some agencies will not use staff who volunteer; instead, they
ask certain individuals if they would be willing to participate.
Others will also protect the identities of those involved.
• Many physicians will not participate in the lethal
injection process. The American Medical Association
sternly speaks out against physicians’ participation and
has stated that it is a violation of their professional
ethics and the Hippocratic oath.
The Emotional Ordeal of an Execution (cont.)

• For those states that use lethal injection, most

executioners are nurses or emergency medical
technicians who are skilled at inserting a
needle into an individuals arm.
• After the completion of an execution, support
services are provided by senior staff for any
staff that feel they are necessary.
Special Exceptions: Juveniles and People with
Mental Retardation
• There are currently two groups of people are
now exempt from capital punishment:
juveniles and people with mental retardation.
• Juveniles are defined differently according to
particular states, with most states having
designated 17 or 18 as the minimum years of
age. A few states have made this designation
16 years of age.
Special Exceptions: Juveniles and People with
Mental Retardation (cont.)
• The argument against the death penalty for
juveniles contends that youth offenders do
not have fully matured brain impulse control,
which usually develops in the late teens or
early twenties. They also may have endured
terrible childhoods, and they may lack a
realistic understanding of death, thus strongly
diminishing the deterrence factor associated
with the death penalty.
Special Exceptions: Juveniles and People with
Mental Retardation (cont.)
• In this case of Roper v. Simmons (2005), the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that offenders under the
age of 18 when they committed their crimes may
not be put to death, because this violates the
Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual
punishment.
– The Supreme Court also decided in Atkins v. Virginia
(2002) that it is considered cruel and unusual
punishment to execute mentally handicapped persons
 Conclusion
• The government-sanctioned taking of a life is a
contentious and emotionally charged issue, and
nearly every argument for or against capital
punishment can be refuted by opponents.
• Clearly, emotional arguments are more significant
and influential than arguments of reason. As long as
most Americans believe in the concept of just
desserts, it seems clear that the death penalty will
remain a viable force in criminal justice for years to
come.