Factors Affecting the Americans Position on the Death Penalty - Essay Example

? The Death Penalty, the American Public Opinion, and the Factors Affecting the Americans’ Position on the Death penalty Name] [Date] The U.S. Death Penalty Since the 18th century, over 15 thousand people have been executed in the United States. Slaves, pirates, witches and murderers were executed by a selection of ways, such as gibbeting, death by crushing, burning, broken on a wheel, and hanging. Historical crimes punishable by death in the U.S. were concealing birth, slave revolts, piracy, witchcraft, and guerrilla activity.1 In the late 1970s, lethal injection was developed as a more humane alternative than electric chair, which had been the principal execution method in the United States for more than 7 decades.2 Under discretionary statutes, juries control decisions on the death sentence of defendants which could result in arbitrary verdicts. This arbitrariness was ruled by the court as a violation of both the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment and the 14th Amendment’s assurance of equal protection under the law. The constitutionality of capital punishment was questioned and the states stopped executions. In 1972, the Supreme Court decided to suspend the death penalty in all executing states. Four years after the 1972 decision, the court ruled that death penalty sentencing laws should include a set of objective guidelines that would help judges and juries in deciding whether a death sentence is deserved and just. The amendments led to the death penalty’s reinstatement in 1976. The court likewise affirmed that the death sentence was constitutional under the Eighth Amendment.3 The Poll Trends Today, the American public opinion on the death penalty has only fairly changed although with far less support than in the mid-1990s when public acceptance was at a remarkable climax. In a survey performed in November 9-14, 2011 by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, in two thousand adults, 62% are in favour of the death penalty for persons convicted of murder while 31% are opposed to it. In 1996, 78% favoured death penalty for murder offenders. Support for capital punishment then declined, dropped to 66% in 2001, 62% in 2005, and 58% in October 2011.4 In Gallup’s first survey about the death penalty in 1936, “Are you in favour of the death penalty for a person convicted of murder?” 59% recorded support and dropped to an unsurpassed decline of 42% in 1966, which was the first time there was more opposition than support over the 75-year course of the survey. Between 1970 and 1980, the support for capital punishment rose again and peaked in the mid-1990s.5 Factors That Might Change the Americans’ Position on the Death Penalty In some old analyses, it was recorded that not many death penalty supporters are influenced by information that death penalty is not a deterrent to crimes and that it is not cruel and unjust.6 On a recent study, 42% of respondents stated that a non-white defendant has higher probability of receiving the death sentence than a white defendant.7 In another study, 49% concurred that a black would more likely be sentenced to death than a white, and 67% agreed that a poor defendant was more likely to receive a death sentence than a non-poor.8 On a survey regarding deterrence issue, death penalty supporters were asked if they would still support capital punishment even if new substantiation confirms that it does not decrease the rate of murders. 69% to 73% of respondents affirmed their support.9 Incapacitation: Prevents Murderers from Killing Again Life imprisonment without parole is an alternative that renders the death penalty unnecessary. From views, majority of the death penalty supporters consider incapacitation as a relatively insignificant concern. In the 1991 Gallup survey, merely 19% of supporters cited incapacitation ("Keeps them from killing again") as a basis for their support, while 50% cited retribution ("A life for a life").10 This result, nevertheless, may considerably devalue the weight of incapacitation in the argument between the pro-death penalty and the anti-death penalty. In a 1997 survey asking, "Whatever your feelings about the death penalty, which of the following do you consider to be among the best reasons to support the death penalty for persons convicted of murder?"11 It removes all possibility that the convicted person can kill again = 74%; It is a deterrent, that is, fear of such punishment discourages potential murderers = 53%; It is not fair to make taxpayers pay to keep convicted murderers in prison for life = 49%; "A life for a life": anyone who takes another person's life deserves to be executed = 48%.12 Wrongful Convictions: Executing the Innocent The possibility of innocent defendants being executed declines the people’s support for capital punishment. 87% of American respondents believe that in the past years, the innocent have been wrongfully convicted and have indeed been executed.13 There is neither a provision of forums from the courts that would verify the innocence of a person who has previously been executed, nor a provision of legal representatives from the state for the follow up of such claims. Thus the number of executed innocent persons is unknown. Some comprehensive reinvestigations in some criminal cases discovered strong feasibilities of innocence in those already executed.14 In the 1997 poll that contained questions about arguments against the death penalty, “The best reasons to oppose the death penalty”, the majority (73%) voted "Innocent people may be wrongly convicted and executed,” followed by “It is always wrong to take a life” at 50%; “A life term is a worse punishment than quick death by execution” at 43%; “Those convicted of murder should be kept alive to help catch others who may have been involved in the crime” at 32%.15 Deterrence: Does Death Penalty Deter Crimes? Criminology experts have extensively been investigating murder rates and fluctuations with the probability of executions of convicted murderers; however results were unconvincing.16 In Ehrlich’s analysis in 1973, it showed that seven lives were spared for every convict executed because would-be criminals were deterred from committing murders.17 Several studies have been made following Ehrlich’s analysis. Ernest van den Haag, Fordham University’s Professor of Jurisprudence studied the issue of deterrence and declared that the death penalty, due to its conclusiveness, is more dreaded than imprisonment, and discourages some potential murderers who are not even deterred by the idea of imprisonment. Preserving the lives of some potential victims by deterring their murderers is more vital than preserving the lives of convicted murderers because of the probability that subjecting them to death penalty would not deter others. Whilst the victims’ lives that could be saved are valuable, the murderers’ lives have only negative importance, because of the crime committed. Criminal law was designed to protect the lives of possible victims rather than those of actual murderers.18 Despite statistics being indecisive, still capital punishment can possibly have a deterrent impact on persons who fear death above anything else. Death is feared most when purposely law-imposed and court-scheduled. People will deter most what they fear most. Therefore, the risk of getting capital punishment could deter a few murderers who otherwise could not have been deterred. The death penalty is certainly the single penalty that could deter detainees previously sentenced life imprisonment and tempted to kill a guard or another inmate, or criminals due for incarceration and facing a life sentence. While this may not stop them, undoubtedly nothing else could ever deter these criminals.19 For some Americans, a major validation for the death penalty is deterrence. In the 1981 poll, 35% of respondents mentioned it as a foundation for their support.20 However, in a more recent poll, there is a descent in trends. No more than 45% of respondents in a 1997 survey agreed that the death penalty discourages the committing of crimes, while 52% pronounced that it does not have a deterrent effect.21 Although such swing must be expected, in 1997 it was largely reported that execution rates in the U.S. had significantly elevated whilst publicity around several particular executions declined. For the most part, people still think that crimes will continue to amplify,22 which will clearly contradict the presumption that the death penalty deters crime. Retribution: A Life for a Life? The balance of justice is disturbed once life is intentionally taken. In order to restore balance, society feels that it is just fair to claim the murderer’s life as well. An eye for an eye, a life for a life, society dictates. When this is not meted out, society surrenders to a rule of violence. Naturally, the damage and agony inflicted on the victim and the victim’s family can never be repaired; however death penalty could at least bring justice and closure to the crime and guarantee that the offender would stop victimizing others. The most brutal and shocking crimes deserve capital punishment under the law system. A lighter punishment would weaken society’s ultimate objective of protecting lives. Retribution thus reasonably agrees that a criminal only deserves a punishment appropriate to the magnitude of his crime.23 In the 1991 Gallup Poll, 50% favoured death penalty because it represents “a life for a life.” Most Americans who favour the death penalty do so mainly for retributive reasons.24 However, in rebuttal to retribution and opposition to violence in society, the Catholic bishops argued that the death penalty is a total disregard for human life, a perpetuation in a cycle of violence, and a promotion of a sense of vengeance in all cultures. “We oppose capital punishment not just for what it does to those guilty of horrible crimes, but for what it does to all of us as a society. Increasing reliance on the death penalty diminishes all of us and is a sign of growing disrespect for human life.”25 The Importance of America’s Opinion on Death Penalty Public opinion has constantly contributed in the present debates about the death penalty; proponents and opponents, executing states and non-executing states refer to it in moral and theoretical writings, and legislators cite public opinion surveys in their position and defence on capital punishment. Moreover, public opinion may be of certain substance in legal decision-making. Different from several constitutional issues, the definition of the Eighth Amendment’s exclusion of cruel and unusual punishment is expanded. The scope of legal review consists of a direct evaluation of the morals of society in general. The analysis of the representation of cruel and unusual punishment could vary as public opinion is clarified by human justice. This position was reasserted upon the courts’ declaration that the Eighth Amendment obtained its meaning from the changing principles of decency that mark the development of a growing society.26 The Future of American Death Penalty Opinion Studies on the public’s justifications for supporting or resisting the death penalty are simply one-dimensional. Several more response alternatives are essential and more surveys with unrestricted questions and explorations to draw particular views must be accomplished. It may be possible to include questions whether the respondent’s opinion was prejudiced by the public figures’ opinions, how their positions would be affected if their expressed validation was later found out to be incorrect, or whether there might be one deliberation that would persuade them that their basis for approval of the death penalty was untrue. Similarly, knowledge is insufficient and a great deal can be realized about the solidity of their firmness to their positions. So far, it is uncertain if death penalty is or is not a vital concern in the minds of respondents. Every “agree” response is evaluated similarly in the general surveys, with no effort made to verify whether the opinion signifies compulsive conviction or lack of sympathy.27 Notes 1 Richard Johnson and Jonathan Rivait, “A Short History of U.S. Capital Punishment,” National Post, 19 July 2013, 10 Nov. 2013 < http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/19/graphic-a-short-history-of-u-s-capital-punishment/> 2 David Masci, “An Impassioned Debate: An Overview of the Death Penalty in America,” Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project, 26 June 2008, 10 Nov. 2013 3 Johnson and Rivait. 4 “Continued Majority Support for Death Penalty: More Concern among Opponents about Wrongful Convictions,” Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 6 Jan. 2012, 10 Nov. 2013 5 General Social Surveys, National Opinion Research Center, 1972-78, 1980, 1982-91, 1993-94, 1996, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File. 6 Phoebe C. Ellsworth and Lee Ross, “Public Opinion and Capital Punishment: A Close Examination of the Views of Abolitionists and Retentionists,” Crime and Deliquency, January1983, 29: 1, 116, 139-49. 7 Los Angeles Times Poll, L.A. Times, 26 July 1994, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (question 26). 8 Newsweek Poll, Princeton Survey Research Associations, 6 June 1997, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (questions 9-10). 9 Alec Gallup and Frank Newport, “Death Penalty Support Remains Strong but Most Feel Unfairly Applied,” GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE, 26 June 1991: 1, 3. 10 Gallup Poll, Gallup Organization, 16 June 1991, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (question 2). 11 Newsweek Poll, (6 June 1997) (question 11). 12 Newsweek Poll, (6 June 1997) (question 11-14). 13 Richard Dieter, “A Crisis of Confidence: Americans’ Doubts about the Death Penalty,” Death Penalty Information Center, June 2007, 10 Nov. 2013 14 “Innocent and Executed: Four Chapters in the Life of America's Death Penalty,” National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 2006, 10 Nov. 2013 15 Newsweek Poll, (6 June 1997) (questions 9-19). 16 “Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty,” Michigan State University and Death Penalty Information Center, 2000, 10 Nov. 2013 17 Isaac Ehrlich, "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death," NBER Working Papers 0018, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1973. 18 Ernest van den Haag, "The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense," Harvard Law Review Association, 1986, 10 Nov. 2013 19 van den Haag. 20 ABC Poll, ABC News, 20 May 1981, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (question 61). 21 Yankelovich Poll, Yankelovich Partners Inc., available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (5 June 1997) (question 22). 22 Tribune Poll, Market Shares Corporation, 4 Aug. 1996, available in LEXIS News Library, Rpoll File (questions 15-16). 23 “Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty.” 24 Gallup Poll, (16 June 1991) (question 2). 25 “To End the Death Penalty: A Report of the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation,” National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 3 December 1999, 10 Nov. 2013 26 Neil Vidmar and Phoebe Ellsworth, “Public Opinion and the Death Penalty,” vol. 26, Stanford Law Review, 1974: 1246. 27 Vidmar and Ellsworth 1268. Works Cited ABC Poll. ABC News. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (question 61) 20 May 1981. 10 Nov. 2013 “Arguments for and Against the Death Penalty.” Michigan State University and Death Penalty Information Center. 2000. 10 Nov. 2013. “Continued Majority Support for Death Penalty: More Concern among Opponents about Wrongful Convictions.” Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 6 Jan. 2012. 10 Nov. 2013. Dieter, Richard. “A Crisis of Confidence: Americans’ Doubts about the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. June 2007. 10 Nov. 2013. Ehrlich, Isaac. "The Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment: A Question of Life and Death." NBER Working Papers 0018. National Bureau of Economic Research. 1973. Ellsworth, Phoebe C. and Lee Ross, “Public Opinion and Capital Punishment: A Close Examination of the Views of Abolitionists and Retentionists.” Crime and Deliquency. January1983, 29: 1, 116, 139-49. Gallup, Alec and Frank Newport. “Death Penalty Support Remains Strong but Most Feel Unfairly Applied.” GALLUP POLL NEWS SERVICE. 26 June 1991: 1, 3. Gallup Poll. Gallup Organization. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (question 2) 16 June 1991. 10 Nov. 2013 General Social Surveys. National Opinion Research Center. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File. 1972-78, 1980, 1982-91, 1993-94, 1996. 10 Nov. 2013 “Innocent and Executed: Four Chapters in the Life of America's Death Penalty.” National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. 2006. 10 Nov. 2013 Johnson, Richard and Jonathan Rivait. “A Short History of U.S. Capital Punishment.” National Post. 19 July 2013. 10 Nov. 2013 < http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/19/ graphic-a-short-history-of-u-s-capital-punishment/> Los Angeles Times Poll. L.A. Times. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (question 26) 26 July 1994. 10 Nov. 2013 Masci, David. “An Impassioned Debate: An Overview of the Death Penalty in America.” Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project. 26 June 2008. 10 Nov. 2013. Newsweek Poll. Princeton Survey Research Associations. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (questions 9-10) 6 June 1997. 10 Nov. 2013 “To End the Death Penalty: A Report of the National Jewish/Catholic Consultation.” National Council of Synagogues and the Bishops' Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. 3 December 1999. 10 Nov. 2013. Tribune Poll. Market Shares Corporation. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (questions 15-16) 4 Aug. 1996. 10 Nov. 2013 van den Haag, Ernest. "The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense." Harvard Law Review Association. 1986. 10 Nov. 2013. Vidmar, Neil and Phoebe Ellsworth. “Public Opinion and the Death Penalty.” Stanford Law Review. 1974: 26,1246. Yankelovich Poll. Yankelovich Partners Inc. LEXIS News Library. Rpoll File (question 22) 5 June 1997, 10 Nov. 2013 Read More