Ethical Aspect: Capital PunishmentPresented by Fumiya. Assistant Researcher: Tanya

Methods

Method Number of Executions (Since 1976)

Number of States Authorizing Method

Lethal Injection 1056 35, plus the U.S. Military and Government

Electrocution 157 9

Gas Chamber 11 5

Hanging 3 2

Firing Squad 3 1

Lethal Injection – primary execution method

35 death penalty states

Lethal Injection

Bound to a gurney

2 needles (1 is backup) inserted into usable vein

Process1. Harmless saline solution2. Anesthetic (sodium thiopental)3. Paralyzes muscles, stops breathing (pavulon or pancuronium

bromide)4. Stops heart (potassium choloride)

Doctor declares inmate dead Has no part in the actual execution

Arguments

For Against

Decision not made lightly Immoral

Safeguards society Too much power to the government

Racial and socio-economic profiling

Botched Execution / Unfairly administered

For

Decision not made lightly Certain of guilt - DNA testing Allowed one appeal Usually takes years (decade +) for execution to be followed out

Safeguards Society First-Degree Murder (with aggravating factors)

heinous, atrocious, cruel, or depraved (or involved torture) grave risk of death for one or more persons (excluding victim) for gain

Rape of children under 14 (with previous convictions)

For: Case Study

Theodore Frank – molested over 100 children in 20 years 1978: Amy Sue Seitz: 24 months old

kidnapped, raped, tortured, mutilated while alive Continued to molest other children after convicted and released 1985: first verdict overturned 1987: second verdict issued September 5, 2001: Theodore Frank died while awaiting execution

Against

Annual Costs: includes trial, hearings, and sentence California: current cost - $137 mil

lifetime incarceration (would be) - $11.5 mil Maryland: average cost per execution – 3 million

Cases perused 1978 to 1999 - $186 million Only 5 executions

Texas: average death penalty cost - $2.3 million 40 years, maximum security – 1/3 of the cost

Against

Botched Execution / Unfairly administered Hard to find a suitable vein Injected into vein, clogged needle -> pain Angel Diaz - December 13, 2006. Florida.

2 doses administered. 34 minutes until death. Needle had gone through vein Injected into soft tissue

Curtis Osborne - June 4, 2008. Georgia: Vein finding: 35 min Time to death: 14 min

WOK

Perception: Many different perceptions

Convicts on death row Victim’s family Uninvolved people

Reason: deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning False dilemma (execute or not) Post hoc ergo propter hoc (death penalty dissuades crime, no

correlation) Circular reasoning (immoral to decide life -> immoral to decide death penalty)

WOK cont.

Emotion: Affects other WOK Empathy: victims, victim’s families, convicts Rationalization subject-specific intuition:

intuition in various areas of knowledge

Language: Emotionally-charged language Connotations, Euphemisms

Death row, capital punishment, execution

MLA Citation

Chronicle Staff Report. San Francisco Chronicle. San Francisco Chronicle. September 7, 2001. Web. October 18, 2010.

Death Penalty Information Center. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2006. Web. October 18, 2010.

Lota, Louin. The Washington Post. The Washington Post. September 8, 2001. Web. October 18, 2010.

Pro-Death Penalty.com. 2010. Web. October 18, 2010.