Kadir Wisdom
Kayla Daniels
Jonathan Clarke
Laurie Ann Sicot
Michael Hartgrove
Legal Definition & Synonyms
 Death penalty: The court- ordered imposition of a sentence of execution as
punishment for a crime. (legal definition)
Synonyms for the death penalty
 Capital punishment
 Death sentence
 Death warrant
 Execution
 Legalized killing
Methods of execution
Lethal Injection- In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state
to adopt lethal injection as a means of execution, though it
would be five more years until Charles Brooks would
become the first person executed by lethal injection in
Texas on December 2, 1982. When this method is used, the
condemned person is bound to a gurney and a member of
the execution team uses a needle and finds a visible vein. At
the wardens signal, the curtain is raised exposing the
inmate to the witnesses as drops of the anesthesia is
inserted in order for them to go to sleep. Next flows
pavulon or pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes the
entire muscle system and stops the inmate's breathing.
Finally, the flow of potassium chloride stops the heart.
Methods of Execution continued…
Electrocution- New York built the first electric chair in 1888 and
executed William Kemmler in 1890. Other states soon adopted
the same method. Electrocution was the only method in
Nebraska until the State Supreme Court ruled
it unconstitutional in February of 2008. A jolt of between 500
and 2000 volts, that lasts for about 30 seconds, is given. The
surges are then turned off, while the body seems to relax.. The
doctors wait a few seconds for the body to cool down and then
check to see if the inmate's heart is still beating. If it is, another
jolt is applied. This continues until the inmate is dead.
OTHER METHODS OF EXECUTION:
Gas chamber, Hanging, Fire Squad
Cost of the death penalty
Time on death row
Executions & current roster
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/vtour/deathrow.html
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/oth/deathrow/
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/activeinmates/deathrowroster.
asp
A prayer to abolish the death penalty
God of Compassion,
You let your rain fall on the just and the unjust.
Expand and deepen our hearts
so that we may love as You love,
even those among us
who have caused the greatest pain by taking life.
For there is in our land a great cry for vengeance
as we fill up death rows and kill the killers
in the name of justice, in the name of peace.
Jesus, our brother,
you suffered execution at the hands of the state
but you did not let hatred overcome you.
Help us to reach out to victims of violence
so that our enduing love may help them heal.
Holy Spirit of God,
You strengthen us in the struggle for justice.
Help us to work tirelessly
for the abolition of state-sanctioned death
and to renew our society in its very heart so that violence will be no more. Amen
Sister Helen Prejean
Catholic View on the Death Penalty
 The Catholic Church opposes the death penalty in most if not all cases
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and they speak out against it because it is a violation of one of the basic
human rights, the right to life.
Sister Helen Prejean C.S.J. wrote a letter to a man on Louisiana’s death
row convicted of the murders of two teens.
It had inspired her to dedicate her life to challenging the death penalty.
Sister Helen wrote a book about her experience with the convict and
named it “Dead Man Walking”.
She was his spiritual advisor during his time on death row and she
witnessed his death.
Sister Helen is now the spiritual advisor to two inmates that are on
death row.
Supreme Court Cases Involving
Death Penalty
Kennedy vs. Louisiana
June 25, 2008
Patrick Kennedy was convicted and sentenced to
death in Louisiana for the aggravated rape of his then
8 year-old stepdaughter. A Louisiana state statute
authorized capital punishment for the rape of a child
under 12. The Supreme Court concluded that the
Eighth Amendment bars Louisiana from imposing the
death penalty for the rape of a child where the crime
did not result and was not even intended to result in
the victim’s death.
Roper vs. Simmons March
st
1,
2005
Donald P. Roper, Superintendent at Potosi Correctional
Center, pleaded with the Supreme Court to take away
Christopher Simmons’ death sentence and give him life in
jail. At age 17, Simmons planned and committed a capital
murder. After he had turned 18, he was sentenced to death.
The US Constitution prohibits the execution of a juvenile
who was under 18 when he committed his crime. The
Supreme Court held in favor of Simmons that the Eighth
and Fourteenth Amendments forbid imposition of the
death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18
when their crimes were committed.
Coker vs. Georgia June 29, 1977
Erlich Anthony Coker, while serving sentences for
murder, rape, kidnapping, and assault, escaped from a
Georgia jail. He broke into a house, raped and
kidnapped the resident woman and took her car. Later
Coker released the victim without any further physical
injuries. He was eventually caught. The state of
Georgia sentenced Coker to death on the rape charge.
The US Supreme Court reversed that judgment on the
grounds that death is an excessive penalty for rape.
Pros & Cons of the Death Penalty
Cons
Pros
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May deter people from committing crimes in the first place
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The condemned won’t be able to experience the horrors of prison
and truthfully there is no long term suffering. Life in prison is far
that can result in receiving the death penalty.
worse than the death penalty because inmates are vulnerable to
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Helps to give closure to the victim’s family after suffering. It
being raped, suffer from violence and not being treated like human
will help the family find solace in knowing that the person who
brought hurt on them is dead.
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beings.
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With possibility of being placed on parole or even escaping
from prison, the death penalty can deter the convicted from
It is possible that the person on death row could be completely
innocent.
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The expenses of the housing, trial and state appeals that accompany
the death penalty will continue to rise when it is easier just keep
committing the crime again.
someone in prison for life.
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There is often sympathy felt towards the person that could
potentially be placed on death row so people of the jury may not
want to give the death penalty.
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There is a question raised; why kill someone to show that killing is
wrong?
Opinions