Upon first observation of this cartoon, I notice the obvious that race is in question. Not just because the word is in the caption, but the characters depict this as well. Strapped down is a black man which represents the 109 executions of the 254 since 1976 according to The Death Penalty Information Center. The white character standing above him representing the majority white justice system of Texas. Not only is he asking if his race played a part by raising a hand that has been totally immobilized. I take this to mean that once a black man is in the system, the fairness he deserves is taken away because of the color of his skin. Without education and resources, it’s like being silenced. And to add insult to injury, the smirk on the officials …show more content…
You would think that would curb the killings, but it has not. The only time they were reviewed was to prevent public shaming. “Three hundred and sixty-one men were put to death by electrocution before Old Sparky was decommissioned, in 1977. The Legislature decided to retire the sturdy, high-backed, solid oak chair after a Dallas TV reporter named Tony Garrett filed a lawsuit along with the American Civil Liberties Union seeking permission to film executions and broadcast them to the public. When a federal judge in Dallas ruled in January 1977 that executions could indeed be televised, Texas lawmakers quickly moved to approve a new method that would be less offensive than electrocution”. (http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-witness/).
So prior to this ruling, the Texas Justice System didn’t care how cruel and inhumane the executions were. So yes Texas has a taste for killing by way of state sanctioned executions.
The opposite argument is the penalize offenders who are convicted of crimes be sentenced to life in prison v. executing them. This would offer the opportunity for any new information that could exonerate the wrongly convicted a second day in court. If the death penalty is carried out on an innocent offender, that would be a travesty of
The injustice that comes from this prosecution isn’t taken as seriously as it should be, with it ruining lives of loved of victims and the victims themselves. A study by Katherine Beckett, details how jurors in Washington State were 3 times more likely to impose the death penalty to a person of color than a white person. Deaths that have included white victims make up 80% of Capital cases, while these victims only make up one half of all murder cases. By 2002, 12 cases of the defendant being white and the murder victim being black have been sent to the death penalty, while 178 cases of the defendant being black have been executed. Discrimination in a court of law that relates to the death penalty correlates directly with the prosecution and defense provided. 94.5% of elected prosecutors that reside in death penalty states are white, even going as far as 100% white in 9 states like Washington and Tennessee. These statistics showcase how the legal system is much more harsher and likely to punish people based on their skin
Next, I must begin and say that I cannot fathom the pain it must be to lose someone to a heinous crime or to be a victim of any crime that can warrant the punishment to be execution. However, there are more complications than benefits to the subject of capital punishment. A problem is how the severity of the death penalty can affect a case. Firstly, it takes much more steps to complete a case than a case wanting a life sentence which can be an emotional strain on victims or family of victims. Then, it is morally challenging for jury members to decide the fate of someone(apostrope)s life which can cause a guilty defendant to walk free, which contradicts the common argument that the death penalty removes a criminal off the streets. Another common defense to a ban on the death penalty is that because it will reduce the amount of prisoners, it would be less costly to the state of California. This is in
Being sent to Death Row is the highest prosecution a criminal could be sentenced to and the process when determining of someone deserves a death sentence is a very bias decision. Since 1977 when capital punishment was restored there has been about 20,600 homicides and only about .7 death sentences for every 100 homicides has been given in the Cook county. The decision to impose a death sentence is not only based on the crime done but also the race of the victim. Attorneys at a state level has a less formal guide when giving death sentences. It is commonly seen how race plays a major role in the justice system. As apart of attorney protocol of determining if the death sentence is given it is seen black males will be given a higher sentence versus a white male even if the crimes where similar. In this article “Disparities on Death Row” published in Grumman points out the unjustness in the justice system. Through ethos, pathos, and logos Cornelia Grumman effectively persuades her audience to spread the issues of capital punishment assignment.
The Texas state has a big reputation of being rigorous on people that committed crime. The necessity to punish guilty is because of the retribution theory, which states that punishment is justified because it is deserved. For that reason, the death penalty in Texas is legal. In fact, is one of only three states
In the 1800s during the time of prison reform, the use of capital punishment and conviction with the death penalty became increasingly stigmatized- less and less was this an acceptable form of punishment and grew to be seen in a much more negative light. Throughout American history, the death penalty through hangings and other execution styles was a part of public society and was often a form of entertainment. Gradually these executions moved out of the public limelight and into a more private sphere, often within the prison walls, and eventually made their way to death by electric chair and lethal injection. Increasing focus on morality led the states and country to tend toward these more ethical ways execution, yet the death penalty has still
Since the death penalty was reauthorized in 1976, 1,362 people have been executed, almost exclusively by the states, with most occurring after 1990. Texas has accounted for over one-third of modern executions and over four times as many as Virginia, the state with the second-highest number. The Walls Unit prison in downtown Huntsville, Texas is the nations busiest execution chamber.
Execution has changed ever since. The first execution in Texas was in 1819 by hanging. In 1923, execution in Texas changed to the electric chair which took place at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. According to the Texas Death Penalty Information Center, Karla Faye Tucker was the first women to be executed in the United States since 1984 and the first in Texas since
Texas Capital Punishment is not as reasonable as one might assume. It is not reasonable since there have been many innocent individuals who have been executed. One might wonder how an innocent individual is given Capital Punishment, and through out the Trial he or she is found guilty and hurl for execution. Many facing Capital Punishment are underprivileged individuals who cannot afford a private lawyer, in which he or she relies on the State of Texas to appoint an attorney for them (Byrd & Price, 2008). Much of the time, the appointed lawyers are overloaded with cases, don’t have time to review the case before trial, and don’t have trial experience required for a capital punishment case (Byrd & Price, 2008). According to the Death penalty
Having to execute prisoners in Texas is a critical issue in our criminal justice system. The executions are carried out on capital murderers. It all started back in the 1800’s when counties carryed out their own exectution method; prisoners were hung. Than, in the1920’s the state of Texas ordered that all executions were to be carried out to Walls Unit, Huntsville for “The Electric Chair.” Ever since 1982, Texas was the first U.S state to execute with the “Lethal Injection.” The executions in Texas are carried out in various ways, but the primary way of executing inmates now is by lethal injection.
The death penalty is the punishment of execution. The death penalty was authorized by 32 states, the Federal Government, and the U.S. Military. Throughout the years, the method of the death penalty has changed. Not only has the way it is performed been altered, but also the way our presidential candidates view the death penalty. For example, when George Bush was governor of Texas in the 1990s, he approved executions. He sent some to death who might have been innocent. Death sentences in Texas have dropped nearly 80% since 1999. In 1977, Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection as a form of execution. Lethal injection is the primary method used. On December 2, 1982, Charles Brooks became the first person executed by lethal injection in Texas. Besides the deadly injection, the electric chair nicknamed "Old Sparky," was also an execution method. Texas, along with Louisiana, Ohio, and Illinois used the electric chair. The electric chair was in use from 1924 until 1964. Old Sparky was said to have taken 361 prisoners life's (TexasTribune).
Each county was responsible to carry out executions on their own until in 1923, when the state implemented a law saying executions should be done through electrocutions in Huntsville (Champagne). This violated the Eighth Amendment because the criminals felt the pain of being electrocuted. As a result, in 1977, the state required that lethal injection be the sole method of execution in Texas (Champagne). Although the lethal injection was to be painless and that it was created for the benefit of the criminal, it still violates The Eighth Amendment because it is inhumane. The crime done by the prison cannot be justified by taking the prisoner’s life. Capital punishment takes the like of a person, and what can be taken can never be taken back anymore. In 2011, the drug they used in the lethal injection had to be changed from sodium thiopental to pentobarbital because of the international attention and protestations it received in the United States (Champagne). The issues concerning pentobarbital as part of the three-drug cocktail in the lethal injection arose when officials did not want to say the source where they are getting their pentobarbital from (Dart). When Texas had to execute a man this April using new batches of pentobarbital, protestors claimed that because of the source’s lack of authenticity, it was possible that “an excessively painful execution”
There are many problems facing our criminal justice system today. Some of the more important ones are overcrowded jails, the increasing murder rate, and keeping tax payers content. In light of these problems, I think the death penalty is our best and most reasonable solution because it is a highly effective deterrent to murder. And, tax payers would be pleased to know that their hard-earned tax dollars are not being wasted on supporting incorrigible criminals who are menaces to society. In addition, they would not be forced to fund the development of new penitentiaries in order to make room for the growing number of inmates in our already overcrowded jails. Moreover, the death penalty would
Thousands of people will attack the death penalty. They will give emotional speeches about the one innocent man or woman who might accidentally get an execution sentence. However, all of these people are forgetting one crucial element. They are forgetting the thousands of victims who die every year by the hands of heartless murderers. There are more murderers out there than people who are wrongly convicted, and that is what we must remember.
However, this argument fails because even if it cannot be proven that deterrent effects works, it obviously does. If one knew that if they murdered someone, they would be killed as well, they would not do it. This would not work in every case but if even one person did not murder someone because of the consequence, then it is worth having the death penalty. I even can say that I believe it deters more than imprisonment. With imprisonment there is hope for a life after imprisonment. Just the hope itself is enough makes it less of a deterrent. Now in a utilitarian perspective, if we are saving more peoples
Death penalty should be scrapped because it can lead to the execution of innocent people. The justice system is bound to make mistakes and so, the accused people should be given a chance to appeal, and prove their innocence other than being murdered because of mistakes made by judges. There are many cases whereby individuals are imprisoned and