Death Penalty

Use of death penalty in the United States dates back to colonial times, with the first recorded execution taking place in Jamestown in 1608. Although its use has always varied from state to state, it was practiced regularly throughout most of our history until 1967, when a temporary ban was instituted while the Supreme Court reviewed its constitutionality.

In 1972, in a 5-4 decision (Furman v. Georgia), the Court ruled that the death pe

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Supports of the death penalty suggest that it is not a cruel and unusual punishment. This is so, simply because a loss of freedom does not and cannot compare to a loss of life. Another example of a faulty case was the Wanda Jean Allen case were she was convicted of the murder of her lover and in January of 2001 was executed by the state of Oklahoma. They feel that the race factor cannot be an argument against the death penalty. The ruling focused on unguided jury discretion and the resulting arbitrary and capricious sentencing that took place because of it. Since the death penalty has been reinstated the controversy has escaladed. In September the Justice Department released a survey of federal death penalty prosecutions nationwide. Martinez-Macias received competent representation for the first time when a Washington, D. Her lawyer had never tried a capital case and did not know how to conduct a proper investigation. (pdp) Since 1973 at least 88 people on death row were released after evidence emerged indicating their innocence. Furthermore, they argue it is logically impossible to be cruel while punishing a guilty murderer for murdering an innocent victim. Georgia in 1972; it sealed a de facto moratorium on executions. According to Liebman, we are getting a life and death decision wrong more than 2 out of every 3 times. There have also been numerous court cases that involved the death penalty that struck arguments and different opinions about the death penalty.

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