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Death Penalty2
Death Penalty2
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: 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 In some states still death penalty for crimes not including homicide4
(f. ex. Treason5, aggravated kidnapping) Nobody executed
o Capital punishment for rape of a minor deemed unconstitutional3 in
2008 (Kennedy v. Louisiana)
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: 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
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%
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 1
o Doesn’t undo the harm done by the murderer, just creates more
violence
o Problems with retribution2
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 deterrent1
o Doesn’t undo the harm done by the murderer, just creates more
violence
o Problems with retribution2