The first recorded case of the death penalty being enforced was in 1608, when Captain George Kendall was executed in Jamestown, Virginia. Since then, the United States has been enforcing the practice, and a total of 15,629 cases have been reported from 1608-present day. The main form of execution in today’s practice is lethal injection, which either includes a 3-drug protocol or one drug. About twenty states to date have abolished the death penalty, with Wisconsin being the first in 1853. The most recent state to abolish the practice is Delaware which did so in 2016.
All things aside, it looms large in this country, but for what reason? People from the general public find satisfaction in knowing that a criminal pays the ultimate price for what they have done. However, it is the opinions of those who are opposed to capital punishment that drive this research. Various groups involved in the process retain significantly different opinions on the matter. The first group is the civilian population of the United States. These individuals are directly affected by the crimes committed. Second, in order to punish these criminals, they must go through heavy legal negotiations. The government officials involved play a major role in the process. The main purpose of this forum is to find out whether people’s viewpoints about capital punishment will change if they know the financial statistics, and how those statistics compare to that of mass incarceration. In this forum, I will be examining the viewpoints of the U.S. civilians, those criminals on death row, and the government officials involved in these cases. This issue is an important moral and ethical topic in the United States, and it’s important that people’s voices are heard. Whether someone is opposed or in favor of the practice, I think everyone should know the facts behind it, as well as the cost-effective alternatives that can be enforced.
All things aside, it looms large in this country, but for what reason? People from the general public find satisfaction in knowing that a criminal pays the ultimate price for what they have done. However, it is the opinions of those who are opposed to capital punishment that drive this research. Various groups involved in the process retain significantly different opinions on the matter. The first group is the civilian population of the United States. These individuals are directly affected by the crimes committed. Second, in order to punish these criminals, they must go through heavy legal negotiations. The government officials involved play a major role in the process. The main purpose of this forum is to find out whether people’s viewpoints about capital punishment will change if they know the financial statistics, and how those statistics compare to that of mass incarceration. In this forum, I will be examining the viewpoints of the U.S. civilians, those criminals on death row, and the government officials involved in these cases. This issue is an important moral and ethical topic in the United States, and it’s important that people’s voices are heard. Whether someone is opposed or in favor of the practice, I think everyone should know the facts behind it, as well as the cost-effective alternatives that can be enforced.