"MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL!"
CCJ4391 SPECIAL TOPICS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
REF # 2081
FALL 2009
DR JOHN ORTIZ SMYKLA
PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF JUSTICE STUDIES AND SOCIAL WORK
COURSE TAUGHT COMPLETELY ONLINE
jsmykla@uwf.edu
CELL 205.862.4024 (no late calls please)
Class Assistant: Patrick Howanitz, pph1@students.uwf.edu. Patrick is
available to answer your questions.
Required Text: Robert M. Bohm, Deathquest III, Third Edition (Newark,
NJ: Anderson Publishing, 2007). MAKE SURE YOU PURCHASE THE
THIRD EDITION.
Course Description: This special topics course focuses on capital
punishment, the ultimate form of criminal justice in any country. This
course is about facts, not opinions. That is not to say that you are not
welcome to share your opinions; in fact, I welcome them. But what I
ultimately want to see is that you develop informed opinions (that is,
opinions backed up by facts). My goal in this course is to deepen your
understanding of what death row is like by having you engage in letter
writing with inmates on death row in Florida and using the textbook to
focus on issues that I believe are salient to understanding capital
punishment including:
 the history of the death penalty (Chapter 1)
 how the decisions of the Supreme Court have shaped capital
punishment (Chapter 2)
 examine the death penalty at the federal level, in the military and
globally (Chapter 3)
 discuss the methods of execution (Chapter 4)
 evaluate whether capital punishment has a general deterrent
effect (Chapter 5)
 consider how much capital punishment costs (Chapter 6)
 discuss why the capital punishment process makes errors and
what can be done about those errors (Chapter 7)
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ponder whether the arbitrariness and discrimination that the
Supreme Court said existed in the capital punishment process
pre-Furman still exist (Chapter 8)
think about the differences in retribution and revenge in the death
penalty and contemplate the impact of capital punishment on
murder victim and death row inmate families (Chapter 9 and a
journal article)
examine what Americans think about the death penalty (Chapter
10). What is your opinion????
Course Objectives:
1. Understand the history of capital punishment in the United States.
2. Understand the pre- and post-Furman periods of capital punishment.
3. Understand select United States Supreme Court cases that have
shaped the death penalty.
4. Explain how the death penalty is used at the federal level, by the US
Military, and globally.
5. Understand the execution methods employed in the United States
and the legal history of the concept "cruel and unusual punishment."
6. Evaluate the argument and counterargument of whether capital
punishment is a general deterrent to capital crime.
7. Outline the reasons for why capital punishment is expensive.
8. Explain "innocence," the miscarriages of justice pre- and postFurman, and evaluate what can be done to prevent wrongful
convictions.
9. Evaluate whether the procedural reforms that were implemented
since Furman have eliminated arbitrary and discriminatory application of
the death penalty.
10.Explain the difference between revenge and retribution and outline
the impact of capital punishment on murder victim and death row inmate
families.
11. Report on American death penalty opinion
12. Analyze life on death row using the letters from death row.
Topics:
1. Death penalty in Colonial Times
2. Death penalty in the 19th Century
3. Death penalty in the first half of the 20th Century
4. Death penalty from 1950 to 1972
5. Pre-1968 death penalty cases
6. Death penalty cases 1969-1977
7. Post-1976 death penalty cases
8. Federal and US Military use of the death penalty
9. Capital punishment around the world
10. Cruel and unusual punishments
11. Methods of execution
12. General deterrence, arguments and counterarguments
13. The brutalizing argument
14. Cost of capital punishment
15. Definition of innocence
16. Miscarriages of justice in pre-Gregg capital cases
17. Miscarriages of justice in post-Gregg capital cases
18. "Super due process"
19. Errors in capital cases
20. Why wrongful convictions occur in capital cases
21. What can be done to prevent wrongful convictions?
22. Arbitrariness in the administration of the death penalty, post-Furman
23. Discrimination in the administration of the death penalty, postFurman
24. Revenge and retribution in the administration of the death penalty
25. Impact of capital punishment on murder victim and death row inmate
families
26. Public opinion about the death penalty
Course Requirements and Grading:
I created ten homework assignments in this course. See the link
"Schedule of what to do and when" for specifics.
I require that every weekly homework assignment be thoughtfully
written. I'll know in a heartbeat what was put together in a rush. If you
don't read the chapter before answering the end-of-chapter questions it
will be obvious to me. I've been teaching for 35 years and I know what
to look for. So save yourself the agony of receiving a low grade on any
assignment and do what I ask the first time around.
Every assignment is due Sunday evening no later than (NLT) 11:59
pm. No late assignments are accepted. Your assignments are put in
the Dropbox. I created one Dropbox for each chapter we are covering.
If you see anywhere in the syllabus or in any of the links a different day
and time, then understand it's an error. But do let me know so I can
correct it. Every Sunday evening 11:59 pm is the time when every
assignment is submitted.
Assignments MUST be WORD processed using Times New Roman
(NO OTHER FONT IS ACCEPTABLE), 12 font size, with one-inch
margins. BE CERTAIN TO ADD YOUR NAME TO EACH
ASSIGNMENT. UWF does not use Word Perfect. If that is what you
have you MUST save your file as a rich text file (rtf) and put that in the
Dropbox. If you submit any assignment in WordPerfect and I have to
email you and ask you to resubmit in rtf format, I will deduct one point.
I have 50 students in this special topics class. I will not be able to
comment extensively on every assignment, nor will I be able to return
them to you. You will be able to check the gradebook to see your
assignment score. Each assignment will take about one week to read,
evaluate and post to the gradebook.
Each assignment is worth 10 points no matter how many parts there
may be to the assignment. You'll see, for example, that some
assignments require you to answer a specific number of questions at
the end of a chapter and possibly to look at a web site and answer
specific questions about that web site. Other assignments ask you to
write an essay. I repeat, each assignment is worth 10 points.
There is a final project and a final exam in this course. Refer to the link
"The Project: Letters from Death Row" for details on the project. The
Final (and the Project) are discussed in Weeks 11 through 14 in the
"Schedule of what we will do and when."
Assignments: 100 points (10 points each)
Project: Letters from Death Row: 50 points
Final: 50 points
Please note: you must complete all three requirements (assignments
plus project and final) to pass the class. You may feel that because you
scored say 100 on all ten assignments and believe your project will earn
50, you're satisfied with your performance and decide not to take the
final. WRONG! You MUST complete all three requirements. Anyone
who doesn't will not pass.
The ten assignments, project and final may seem a lot. I do believe in
keeping the bar high but the work is not difficult. You have minimal
weekly reading and your responses to the chapter discussion questions
(DQs) should be relatively easy (and challenging) since you have the
book in front of you. But do read the chapter before answering the
discussion questions. It's a good idea to keep note of which DQs you
will be answering as you read.
The Project: Letters from Death Row will, I hope, be one you remember
for a long time. In many ways you are taking on a research role but I
don't want to structure it that way. I believe that you will learn a lot
about what death row is like from your correspondence with the death
row inmates.
And the final, because you will be watching a one-hour debate on the
death penalty between the author of your book (Robert Bohm) and a
professor from New York and the five questions are given to you now on
the link "Schedule of what we will do and when", then you should do
well on the final. None of it seems to put anyone under pressure. Just
stay disciplined and steady and you should do fine.
FOR YOUR PROTECTION: For those of you in working in the CJ
system in some capacity, it is understood that your statements,
comments, and replies do not necessarily reflect your personal or
professional beliefs and practices or reflect your agency. All statements,
comments, and replies in this course are for educational purposes only
and are to further and to enhance the quality of the educational
experience.
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT POLICIES and OTHER POINTS OF
INTEREST: All assignments are due as stated on the course
calendar.
There will be NO make-up assignments.
It is the students’
responsibility to manage their time so as to complete all projects by the
stated deadline. Please note that electronic excuses (e.g., my printer
is broken or out of ink, modem problems, hard drive crashed, computer
lab closed, dog ate my disk, etc.) will not be accepted. Late
assignments are not accepted. A score of “0” will be earned for any
assignment that is received after the deadline. Please do not ask for an
extension. We do not allow any extra credit. We do not issue
incompletes (except as defined in the Catalog). You must complete all
of the work during the course of this semester. If you email us with a
question, comment, or concern about the class, you can expect a
response within 24 hours (unless we have indicated in advance that we
will not be available).
EXPECTATIONS FOR ACADEMIC CONDUCT/PLAGIARISM
POLICY:
As future professionals in the criminal justice field, the
faculty in the School of Justice Studies and Social Work believe you
should be held to the highest standards. Please note that your
reputation is extremely important for future employment. It is expected
that you will act appropriately and demonstrate mutual respect for
everyone in the class. Of particular importance is that you do not
represent another person’s work as your own (plagiarism). You are
encouraged to complete the tutorial found on the library’s web site at
http://library.uwf.edu/Tutorials/module_plagiarism/default.htm
STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT:
The Student Code of Conduct sets
forth the rules, regulations and expected behavior of students enrolled
at the University of West Florida. Violations of any rules, regulations, or
behavioral expectations may result in a charge of violating the Student
Code of Conduct. It is the students’ responsibility to read the Student
Code of Conduct and conduct themselves accordingly. You may access
the current Student Code of Conduct at
http://www.uwf.edu/judicialaffairs.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS: The Student Disability Resource
Center (SDRC) works with students and faculty to help make UWF an
accessible learning environment in accordance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The SDRC
offers a variety of services for students with documented disabilities,
including learning disabilities,deaf/hard of hearing, blind/low vision,
mobility limitations, ADHD, psychiatric disorders, and medical
disabilities. Contact Student Disability Resource Center, 11000
University Parkway, Bldg 21/Room 130,Pensacola, FL 32514. Office:
850-474-2387 Fax: 850-857-6188 E-mail: sdrc@uwf.edu
COMMUNICATIONS: All UWF students have access to a free UWF
email address and must use that e-mail address throughout the course
to receive all correspondence. Any necessary changes to the syllabus,
assignments, etc. will be distributed electronically through GroupMail. It
is the student’s responsibility to make sure he/she gets this information.