1)What is your topic?
- My topic is the death penalty. It is a widely debated issue with many people who believe both sides. Some people feel that the death penalty is wrong no matter what. Others feel that some crimes people commit are only punishable by death. I chose the topic to learn more about the death penalty itself and what types of situations it is used in.
2)Describe what you know about the topic.
- I know that the death penalty is not legal in all the states. It is practiced around the world more freely. People usually recieve the death penalty for commiting murder. Also, many people wait on death row for years here in America, and appeals prevent them from ever having to go through with it. Lawyers usually drag the process of appeals out until the prisoner has died of natural causes. Prisoners who face the death penalty live in seperate jails than other prisoners.
3)Tell what you want to learn about.
- I want to learn more about what kind of people recieve the death penalty. I also want to know the types of crimes besides murder that can get the death penalty. Is it only murder or things like rape? Does death have to be involved for the criminal to be executed? I'd like to know the number of criminals who are actually executed.
I would also like to learn about both sides of the debate more, and the evidence that they support it with. Since I don't really have an opinion I'm open to seeing both sides of the argument and making a decision from there. I also want to learn where the death penalty is legal and illegal. I want to see how other countries view it, and which ones practice it and which ones forbid it. I also want to learn about cases where capital punishment was implemented and form my own opinion on whether it was right or wrong.
4)Describe the origins of your research. What sparked your interest in the topic? Why do you want to know more about it?
- My interest was sparked on this because of a few things I've seen and heard in the past few years. I read a book called The Innocent Man by John Grisham a few summers ago. It was a true story based on a man who was facing the death penalty for raping and murdering a young waitress. However, he turns out to be innocent and mentally handicapped. He spent the majority of his life in jail waiting to die, and it turned out he only got to spend a few years out of prison before he died from getting sick.
Another thing that made me interested in the death penalty was something I studied when I did a psychology project on psychopaths. I learned about multiple serial killers who had been executed throughout history. One case in particular was about a woman serial killer who killed and robbed seven truck drivers and was executed a few years later. As I researched these stories, there were many articles written about how psychopaths should just be executed because that's the only way that the average person is safe. Many people believed that even though not all psychopaths are dangerous, they should be executed or locked up just in case. I want to learn more about these instances.
5)List at least 5 questions you have about your topic.
-When was the death penalty invented?
-How many people have been put to death in the United States?
-What states is it legal in?
-What countries is it legal in?
-Have efforts to abolish it be successful?
-Can juveniles be executed?
-What are different religion's opinions on it?
6)Describe your plan for collecting information about your topic.
-I'm planning on looking up different cases of people who have been given the death penalty. I want to look at how it has changed throughout history, and see where it began. I would also like to know about all the legal complications of this. I'd also like to learn about each side of the argument by reading about abolitionists, marches, and protests. I plan to do this through the internet and possibly textbooks.
7)"Racial and Geographic Disparities in Ohio Executions." Death Penalty Information Center. May 2010. Web. 18 May 2010
"Death Penalty and Sentencing Information." Pro Death Penalty. 1 Oct. 1997. Web. 18 May 2010.
"Execution of Juvenile Offenders." Amnesty International. 2007. Web. 18 May 2010.
"The Death Penalty in the U.S." Death Penalty. 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 18 May 2010.
"History of the Death Penalty." Anti Death Penalty. 2004. Web. 18 May 2010.
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Dear Ally,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I'm impressed that you chose such a daring and controversial issue. That speaks greatly about your character, your boldness. You mentioned the book The Innocent Man and how the man in the book spent almost all of his life in jail and turned out to be innocent. I've thought about things like that before. How awful it would be to spend years and years in jail when you didn't even commit a crime. That'd be davastating. DEVASTATING! Also, the person in my psychology class that did psychopaths talked about that issue too, and it's a valid point, I think. I surely wouldn't want a probable murderer living in the same neighborhood as me. But maybe that me judging... either way, I'd rather not be around one. I didn't know the prisoners who faced the death penalty lived in a different part of the jail. Thanks for teaching me something new, Allyson. That's interesting.
Love you,
Gabe
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn response to answer 3, I know for a fact that, in California, you can be put on death row for treason, sabatoge, first-degree murder, killing someone while your in prison, and being the cause of a train wreck causing a death. Also, in Georgia, you can be put on death row for hijacking an aircraft. Most states only put people on death row for murder.
ReplyDeleteIn response to answer 5, juveniles cannot be executed in the United States.
In response to answer 1, I am on the death penalty's side. I do believe that there are some crimes that are only punishable by death. Of course murder is on my list of crimes that should be punished with death, but i believe rape should be added to this list. The problem about rape is that the person convicted gets out of prison in 5 to 10 years. Half of them say that they will do it again, yet they still get out of prison. This makes more rape victims that could be prevented if the death penalty was issued for this crime. I'm not saying that everyone should die that commited the crime of rape; im saying that those that get a second offense should be put on death row. This almost completely ensures innocents that get convicted of rape aren't killed for it.
(needed to fix a grammatical error is why that post above was deleted)
In response to number 1, I am personally against the death penalty. I think that a murderer or rapist (or whatever) should have to suffer for the longest period of time as a punishment for what they did. The death penatly, to me, probably doesn't make the victims feel at ease either. I would prefer to make someone evil suffer than give them an easy way out.
ReplyDeleteWith response to number 6, I would also like to find out how many people have been put to death. Isn't it freaky to think about how many people America has killed?
In response to number 2, I thought that it was legal in all the states. I believe what you said, but for some reason I thought otherwise. It's also crazy to think that people sit for years in prisons knowing that they are waiting for the day they are put to death.
:)
Hello, Ally :)
ReplyDelete1. I like that you chose such a controversial issue. The death penalty should be interesting to research. It should also be interesting to learn about arguments both for and against the death penalty. I am sure there are strong arguments for both points.
4. Personally, I am against the death penalty. One reason is that, although unlikely, there is always the small possibility that an innocent man or woman could be killed. What if the character in the book you mentioned had been put to death? That would have been the loss of an innocent life.
5. Those are all very interesting questions. Right now, I do not know the answer to any of them. But I am very interested in learning the views of different religions on the topic. Many religions preach the sanctity of life. Do they feel that criminals have the right to live as well?
Sup Ally ;)
ReplyDeleteObviously I'm here to comment on your topic, so here it goes...
1. I am also very interested in the death penalty issue. I was actually thinking of choosing it as my research topic, but I decided to choose Teen Pregnancy instead. ;) Personally,I don't even really like the idea of a death penalty because I think it is wrong. Therefore, if I had to choose a side on the debate of the death penalty, I would choose the side where only certain crimes, such as murder or rape, deserve it.
2. Your response greatly reminded me of the movie Redemption, which is about a founder of the infamous gang, the Crips, who is sentenced to die for the murders he caused and committed. In the movie, he is seperated with the other prisoners who also face the death penalty. His lawyer does try to prolong the time he has to live, while he searches for a way to make up for his crimes and a way to stop all the killings he caused. In the situation of this man, whose name is Stan Tookie Williams, I believe that he doesn't deserve the death penalty after he realizes what he has done and tries his best to make up for it. He should still face more prison time, but not the death penalty.
3. I also would like to know more about the different cases in which the death penalty has been needed. I think it will really change my opinion on the topic by either making it stronger or by changing my side of the issue completely. I can't wait to see the research paper that you will write about this topic!
Love you,
Britt :)
hey ducky, love you beebs
ReplyDeleteI view your social issue as one that is very controversial, but I am for the death penalty. I am not necessarily for the execution, but I think that if a person commits a crime that is so horrible, such as murders or rape, then they should have a punishment worthy of the committed crime. What i do not agree with is one person or a small majority making the decision.
In response to your first question, i read that the death penalty existed as far back as 1608 as a 'better' technique of capital punishment.
For the answer to the second question, the number of executions since 1976 is 1,099. BUT the number of people of death row is 3,263. Both of these facts were based on information from April 2008, so the number has probably increased on both the executions and death row.
To answer question three, the only states that do not have the death penalty are Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Rhode Islande, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin, as well as Washington DC. Thirty Seven other states do have the death penalty.
The death penalty is a serious topic that many people are against. But how do you keep sanity with murderers still living in our society? I look forward to reading more about your social issue.
:)
(insert personal greeting here since we seem to be keeping this informal)
ReplyDeleteI just like to say that I too am doing this topic so I like looking at the comments here to see what people are thinking about. I find it interesting to see how many people are against capital punishment. Some say they want the people to suffer for the longest time for what they did. Some oppose it on principle. I would love to see you do some research and see what the pros and cons are to each situation of keeping them in prison or executing them, what the finacial, moral, and practical aspects are.
(Btw, if the people who expressed their views here would kindly visit my blog and vote in my poll so I can get a view of people's stances that would be greatly appreciated. thank you.)
50/50 :)
ReplyDelete