The Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment
Download
Report
Transcript The Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment
The Death Penalty and the
Eighth Amendment
Admin
Opportunity to participate, be on the news!
2:00, Thursday, Room 117 Wooten
–
–
First 60 students
Line up at 1:50
Need a FERPA waiver – cross off “1050.001”
and write in “1040.002”
Admin
Workbook 6-6, Question 14, Answer “A” has a
typo (it should say “20%” instead of “10%”)
6-5 asks for information about women in
particular jobs . . . If the information for a
particular job is not available, don’t worry about
it . . . Use the information on the website the
best you can.
Admin
Exam Make-up
If you want to retake (as opposed to make up)
exam, you need to e-mail me
([email protected])
Why you shouldn’t do it . . .
–
–
–
Retake score will be final, even if it is lower
Gap since you learned material
Format
Eighth Amendment
Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
“evolving standards of decency that mark the
progress of a maturing society”
Modern History of Death Penalty
Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Responses:
–
Death penalty for everyone!
–
Rejected by Supreme Court in Woodson v. N.C. (1976))
Aggravating and mitigating factors
Accepted by the Supreme Court in Gregg v. Georgia
(1976))
Death Penalty Today
37 states, the federal government, and the
U.S. military have capital statutes
Number of inmates on death row = 3,350
–
–
393 death row inmates in Texas
660 in California, but CA is slow to carry out
sentences
Lethal injection available everywhere except
Nebraska (electrocution)
Public Opinion
(All May 2006, Gallup)
Are your for or against DP?
–
–
Which is better penalty, DP or LWOP?
–
–
65% For
28% Against
47% DP
48% LWOP
Is DP imposed fairly?
–
–
60% Fairly
35% Unfairly
8th Amendment
Is death penalty per se cruel and unusual?
–
Only Justices Marshall and Brennan have
advocated this position
Is death penalty as applied cruel and unusual?
–
–
–
Method of execution
Proportionality with crime (Coker v. Georgia (1977))
Certain classes of defendants
Classes of Defendants
Mentally ill (Ford v. Wainwright (1986))
Mentally retarded (Atkins v. Virginia (2002))
Juveniles (Roper v. Simmons (2005))
Close-up on Roper
Simmons 17 at time of crime
1989, Supreme Court held that 16-18 year olds
could be executed
What changed?
Justice Kennedy’s Opinion
What evidence is there that standards of
decency now prohibit execution of 16- and 17year olds?
–
–
–
–
Steady (though slow) trend toward abolition
5 states abolished juvenile dp after 1989
Even in states that allow it, juvenile dp rare
U.S. only country that still had juvenile dp (not
controlling, but telling)
Justice Kennedy’s Opinion
DP reserved for most serious crimes, most
culpable defendants
Why are juveniles less culpable than adults?
–
–
–
Less mature, more given to impulsive behavior
More susceptible to bad influences
Character of juveniles not yet fixed (hope for
rehabilitation)
Purpose of dp: retribution and deterrence