Sociology- Voss
Name:
Webquest—Crime/punishment/death penalty
GO TO www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs
Click on corrections
Located on the left side, click on capital punishment then scroll down to-charts
1. Analyze the chart of executions from 1930 to 2009.
How many people were executed in 1930?__________
1950?_________
1970?__________
1990?__________
2009?__________
What is the overall trend?(where is it highest? Where is it lowest)
What are some possible reasons for the low #’s of executions in the 1970’s and 1980’s? **this requires
some further research**
2. Click back and click on ‘prisoners under sentence of death 1954-2008’ (2nd graph)
Describe the graph how is it similar/different to the first one?
Why do you think so many more people are now on death row?
Why are the numbers so different for death row and executions?
3. Click back and scroll down to 3rd graph;
Click on Prisoners on Death Row by Race
What is the overall trend by race?
4. Click back then scroll down to ‘Publications and productions’ section. Click on ‘Capital
punishment 2005 pdf file.’ Read thru the pdf file and Use the Charts to answer the questions.
Which state had the most executions?
Look at the last table (Appendix Table 5)What is the most common method of execution?
Refer to page 4--How young can a person be and still get the death penalty?
Look at Table 5 for age, race, gender, education and marital status. Describe the demographics of
someone under sentence of death.
5. Go back 2 times. On the left side of the screen, click on ‘Victims.’ Then click on ‘Victim
Characteristics.’
According to the Uniform Crime Report of 2009, what percent of Victims were:
Age 18 or older:
Under 24:
Black:
White:
6. Go to http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/death/stats.html
Scroll down to sourcebook of criminal justice statistics. Then click on ‘public opinions.’ Then on
‘capital punish.’ Use the ‘Attitudes toward. . . 2009’(pdf file) to answer the following.
Which groups are most likely to favor the death penalty for murder?
Sex:
Race:
Age:
Education:
Politics:
7. Go to http://www2.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/about/crime_clock.html
In the 50 minutes of this class, how many of the following crimes have been committed?
Murder_____
rape______
burglary______
Robbery_____
motor vehicle theft_______
Aggravated assault________