An Analysis of Capital Punishment

An Analysis of Capital Punishment

By

xxxxx

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

for MGMT 6000: Introduction to Public Administration & Policy

Abstract

The purpose of this introspective examine capital punishment and to provide supporting information and evidence that the United States should follow suit of the many other developed nations throughout the world and abolish the death penalty . While the negative implications of utilizing a criminal justice system that administers capital punishment is countless: innocent people being executed, the cost and length of time it takes to carry out an execution, the inconsistent application across races and geographic locations, it’s ineffectiveness of being a crime deterrent, it can further be debated if the death penalty is in violation of the 8th amendment of the United States Constitution. Governments should not have the power to pass ultimate judgment and decide who gets to live and who should die. This analysis will delve it some essential points that quantitatively and qualitatively support that statement.

INTRODUCTION

The death penalty in the United States has always been a highly controversial topic. Although the American Civil Liberties Union believes that the death penalty inherently violates the constitutional ban against cruel and unusual punishment and the guarantees of due process of law and equal protection under the law, capital punishment is still legal in 31 states, and the top five states carrying out the majority of the executions. Texas carries out the vast majority of executions, while other death penalty states like New Hampshire have not carried out an execution in decades. The issue of capital punishment may have taken a back seat to other more recently passionately contested political topics, but it is nonetheless just as important as ever.

While the Furnam vs. Georgia Supreme Court Decision in 1972 put a four year moratorium on executions due its inconsistent application, it was overturned just four years later with the Gregg vs. Georgia decision. Since 1976 there have been over 1400 executions (deathpenaltyinfo.org, n.d.); 15 already in the calendar