Anna Orth GFS Englisch

DEATH PENALTY
IN THE USA
Anna Orth GFS Englisch

DEATH PENALTY
IN THE USA
Does it really bring justice?
 Structure
o Basic Information
o Methods
o Crimes punished with death penalty (+ Limitations)
o History
o Pros & Cons
o Resources
 Basic Information
o State issue
o Legal: 25 States; Illegal: 21 States + D.C.; Moratoriums1 in 4 States

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/state-by-state
o Being sentenced to death2 ≠ Execution3
 Several years/decades “on death row”

1: Moratorium = temporary prohibition of an activity; 2: sentenced to death = zum Tode verurteilt; 3: execution = Hinrichtung
o 1514 individuals
executed1 since 1970’s
o 16 women executed, 55
on death row (2% of
death row population)
o Federal execution:
Federal Government2 can
sentence people to death
(rare)
https://files.deathpenaltyinfo.org/legacy/documents/FactSheet.pdf

1: to execute = hinrichten; 2: Federal Government = Bundesregierung

 Methods
o Lethal Injection1
o Electrocution2
o Gas Chamber
o Hanging
o Firing Squad3

1: Lethal injection = Todesspritze; 2: Electrocution = death by electric chair; 3: Firing squad = Erschießungskommando
 Crimes Punished with
Death Penalty
o Almost exclusively for (aggravated1) murder of a person
o Aggravating1 factors vary from state to state (f. ex. Previous
convictions2, intentional murder of a child / pregnant woman etc.)
o Capital punishment for rape of a minor deemed unconstitutional3 in
2008 (Kennedy v. Louisiana)
o In some states still death penalty for crimes not including homicide4
(f. ex. Treason5, aggravated kidnapping)  Nobody executed
1: to aggravate = erschweren; 2: conviction = Verurteilung; 3: to be deemed unconstitutional = für verfassungswidrig gehalten; 4: homicide = Mord; 5: treason = Landesverrat
 Limitations
o Juveniles1: Execution of defendants2 who committed crime as
juvenile constitutional3 until March 2005
o Mentally ill people: Execution banned in 1986
o Intellectually disabled4 people: Execution banned in 2002

1: juvenile = person under the age of 18; 2: defendant = Angeklagter; 3: constitutional = verfassungsmäßig; intellectually disabled = geistig behindert
 History
o Britain colonized America in 17th century Death penalty
brought there
o Examples for crimes punished with death penalty: Stealing food,
“witchcraft”, slaves killing their master,
o Mostly used to deter1  executions publicly visible
o Pennsylvania first state to only execute people who committed
first degree murder ( = deliberately2 murdered someone ) in 18th
century

1: to deter = abschrecken; 2: deliberately = absichtlich

o Death penalty moved out of public eye in 19th century
o Constitutionality1 questioned in 1960s
o Death penalty suspended2 in 1972 by Supreme Court3
o New statutes4 for capital punishment were made, Supreme
Court approved (1976)

1: constitutionality = verfassungsmäßigkeit; 2: to suspend sth. = etw. Aussetzen; 3: Supreme Court = höchster Gerichtshof Amerikas; 4: statute = Gesetz
 Pros
o Criminal can’t commit crimes again
o Modern criminal investigation methods
 very little chance of executing innocents
o Retribution1
o Overpopulation in prisons
https://favpng.com/png_download/8RvSsqyy

1: Retribution = ausgleichende Gerechtigkeit

 Cons
o Higher cost than life imprisonment
o Not a deterrent1
o Doesn’t undo the harm done by the murderer, just creates more
violence
o Problems with retribution2
o Discrimination
o Wrongful executions of innocents
1: deterrent = Abschreckung; 2: retribution = ausgleichende Gerechtigkeit
Do executions lower homicide1 rates?
No opinion Yes
7% 5%

1% of Murder Rates per 100,000 (2017)

executions
National 5.3

Northeast 3.5

West 4.5

Midwest 5.7

South 6.4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

No 80% of
88% executions

1: homicide = Mord
 Cons
o Higher cost than life imprisonment
o Not a deterrent
o Doesn’t undo the harm done by the murderer, just creates more
violence
o Problems with retribution
o Discrimination
o Wrongful executions of innocents
 Death row prisoners by race
Other
3%
Hispanic
13%

PEOPLE EXECUTED FOR

Black
INTERRACIAL MURDERS
42%

290
21 white people executed
for killing black people
 How many black people
have been executed for

21
killing white people?
Whit e D e f. / B la c k Vic ti m B la c k D e f. / Whit e Vic ti m

White
42%
 Estimate1!

1: to estimate = schätzen
 Cons
o Higher cost than life imprisonment
o Not a deterrent
o Doesn’t undo the harm done by the murderer, just creates more
violence
o Problems with retribution
o Discrimination
o Wrongful executions of innocents
Carlos Carlos
DeLuna Hernandez
Does it bring justice?
 My opinion: It does not
Thank you for
your attention!
 Resources
o https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/
o https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/19/us/death-penalty-fast-facts/index.html
o https://ndla.no/subjects/subject:23/topic:1:184990/resource:1:103196
o https://www.amnesty.org/en/
o https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/against-death-penalty.html
o https://www.findlaw.com/
o https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045218
o https://deathpenalty.procon.org/top-10-pro-con-arguments/
o https://www.wikipedia.org/
o https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/01/26/the-worlds-most-overcrowded-prison-systems-infographic/#7260bc0c
1372
o https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/28/us/mass-incarceration-five-key-facts/index.html
o http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/capitalpunishment/