Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty - Annotated Bibliography Example

The paper "Pros and Cons of the Death Penalty" is a great example of an annotated bibliography on the law.1. Stearman Kaye (2007), “The Debate about the Death Penalty,” The Rosen Publishing Group (Pg. 48). Author Kaye Stearman has written many books on social issues, such as ‘Feminism,’ ‘Why do people live on the streets,’ ‘Taking action against homelessness,’ ‘Women’s rights,’ ‘Gender issue,’ ‘Poverty,’ and other.

In ‘Death penalty’ the author focuses on the major issue of capital punishment. She discusses whether the death penalty is justified. The argument has been done in a balanced manner. Every argument is discussed thoroughly and for that, the history of that topic has been taken into consideration.” The author also has discussed the execution from a humanity point of view. The author in this book also wants to focus on the major question of whether the death penalty makes the society safer by abolishing crime.

The books take the review of the execution took place in different countries in the year 2005. She has reviewed the death penalties exist in different countries all over the world. 2. Phil B. “The Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment,” A Guide for the Survival of Humankind, Improving the World, Society, and Yourself! In the article, the author has thoroughly discussed the issue of death penalty with its pros and cons. The death penalty is also called capital punishment. The author here discusses the various causes of capital punishment.

The seven major causes for capital punishment and seven reasons against capital punishment are described in this article. While giving reasons for capital punishment the author argues that prison is for those people who are likely to rehabilitate. But capital punishment is the only option for those who can never be rehabilitated. The author also gives a strong economical reason. He says that the cost of imprisoning is much more expensive than executing the person. Capital punishment is essential for the safety of the other people and for severe crime severe punishment is logical according to the author.

At the same time, he tells us the other side of capital punishment that it is against humanity. 3. ‘The Death Penalty: Morality Defensible?’ Casey Carmical, Last updated on Tuesday, January 24, 2012, (the date of my visit: 24th Jan 2012)The writer’s name in this article is not mentioned here, but s/he is very argumentative while discussing this topic. Unlike the above-mentioned writers, the writer of this article is in favor of death penalty. The above both writers are rather informative and their writing does not incline towards arguments.

But the writer of this article advocates his/her opinion that the death penalty is absolutely moral. The author also differentiates between the two terms, killing and murder. The act of killing is done for self-defense while murder according to the writer is "the unlawful and malicious or premeditated killing of one human being by another.”The author also gives five major reasons to support his opinion. While advocating opinion, the writer has given the references for amendments of the constitution.

To support an argument the writer has given 19 different primary sources. In the end, the writer concludes by focusing that victim rights are more important than the criminal rights. 4. Dudley Sharp, ‘Death Penalty Resources Director, Justice for all. (1997)Dudley Sharp is the founder of Justice Matters. He was also the Former Resource Director, vice president and chairman of the Endorsement Committee and member of the Board of Justice For All, July 1993- 2000. Dudley Sharp in the article ‘Death Penalty Resources Director, Justice for all,’ focuses on the issue of capital punishment.

Many people who are against capital punishment generally view that the rate of capital punishment in the US is rare, i.e. 0.06%. The author also debates against the opponents of the death penalty. While expressing the death penalty with a moral issue, the opponents according to the writer are very confused. The writer also has cleared the misconception of the death penalty that it is expensive. He has explained it with authentic figures and with a quantitative data. To propound his opinion strongly, the writer gives biblical allusion and confirms that ‘there is no biblical prohibition against the government imposition of the death penalty in deserving cases.’ 5. Michael Dow Burkhead (2009) A Life for a Life: The American Debate over Death Penalty, McFarland Publication.

The book provides a new insight to the public debate on the issue of the death penalty in the United State., this book looks at the various drifts in public opinion that influence crime prevention efforts, create public policy, and reform criminal law. It discusses eight major issues about the use of execution that include cruel and unusual punishment, discrimination, deterrence, due process, culpability, scripture, innocence, and justice. It gives a concise history of capital punishment in the United States from the earliest known execution at the Jamestown Colony in 1608 to executions occurring as recently as 2008.

Apart from that some additional topics are included in the book, such as the regionalization of capital punishment sentences, the spiritual and scriptural debate over the death penalty, the role of DNA evidence in modern execution sentences, and the ongoing effects of Furman v. Georgia, McClesky v. Kemp, Baze v. Rees, and other related court rulings.