Where does public opinion stand on the death penalty? Has opinion been stable? How widespread is its legality today? Show
American citizens have long supported capital punishment. Polling back to the 1930s between 60-80% of the public favors permitting the death penalty for those convicted of murder. For only a brief period in the 1960s did the rate drop below 50%. the general reservoir of support for the death penalty is sufficiently strong and widespread that it would be politically difficult to eliminate it as an available sentencing option How did the provisions of the Bill of Rights apply to Atkins and Jones? in drafting the bill of rights, members of the first congress sought to guarantee more freedoms of speech press and religion. in addition to abuse individual rights during the criminal process the investigation and prosecution of Daryl Atkins and William Jones for the murder of Eric Nesbitt highlight the safeguards. in their first attempt to apprehend Jones, the police could not initially search the King James motel because they lacked the necessary probable cause required by the fourth amendment. When taken into custody, the two suspects were informed of their fifth amendment right to remain silent Both Atkins and Jones were supplied defense attorneys under the sixth amendment What did and does "cruel and unusual punishment" mean? What are some basic principles about cruel and unusual punishment that can be found in decision by the Supreme Court? In other word, what has the Supreme Court declared violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment? cruel and unusual punishment. Punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Cruel and unusual punishment includes torture, deliberately degrading punishment, or punishment that is too severe for the crime committed. Chief justice Earl Warren's opinion in Trop v Dulles (1958) summed up its general meaning: "The basic concept underlying the 8th amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man. While the State has the power to punish, the Amendment stands to assure this power be exercised in the limits of civilized standards" What does "stare decisis" mean? What is its significance in court? the US Supreme Court in the course of deciding an appeal may be called upon to provide an authoritative interpretation of a contested constitutional provision. When the supreme court does so, its interpretation becomes a binding precedent. Under a principle known as stare decisis, the Supreme Court is expected to adhere to its interpretation in deciding future cases until such time as the justices find sufficient cause to alter the precedent or the constitution is amended. Stare decisis brings a degree of stability and predictability to law Has the Supreme Court ever ruled that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment per se (in and of itself). the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment prohibits discrimination based on race or other illegitimate characteristics in determining guilt and appropriate penalties. In spite of these guarantees the court has never ruled that the death penalty per se violates the eighth amendment or any constitutional provision What was the significance of Furman v. Georgia? What was the primary concern members of the Supreme Court held? What did the ruling require? - stunning victory for death penalty opponents supreme court question: Does the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in these cases constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments? ruling: 5:4 Decision - Yes. The Court's one-page per curiam opinion held that the imposition of the death penalty in these cases constituted cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Constitution. In over two hundred pages of concurrence and dissents, the justices articulated their views on this controversial subject. Only Justices Brennan and Marshall believed the death penalty to be unconstitutional in all instances. Other concurrences focused on the arbitrary nature with which death sentences have been imposed, often indicating a racial bias against black defendants. The Court's decision forced states and the national legislature to rethink their statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner. - How were state laws revised to take the concerns in Furman into account? - many underestimated the public support the death penalty 1. the new statue allowed capital punishment to be imposed for 6 crimes. 1. murder, 2. armed robbery, 3. rape, 4. treason, 5. aircraft hijacking and 6. kidnapping for ransom or where the victim is harmed 2. bifurcated trials were requires in all capital cases where the prosecution seeks the death penalty. (guilt phase and penalty phase) 3. the law reduced the discretion of the jury by requiring it to consider the presence of aggravating circumstances (factors that made the crime more serious) and mitigating factors (factors that made the crime less serious) aggravating circumstances on page 73 Why did capital punishment in the case Gregg v. Georgia pass muster, while the cases from North Carolina and Louisiana were unacceptable? How do these cases help us understand the Furman decision? these two states took a different approach to reducing jury discretion in that they eliminated jury discretion all together. the Supreme Court found the mandatory death sentence unacceptable. The sentencing process must include some discretion, sufficient to make an individualized determination of an appropriate sentence How have the political climate and public opinion shaped state laws regarding the death penalty? polls showed that supports for capital punishment had risen to levels exceeding two thirds of Americans after Gregg What are the five primary legal strategies of the anti-death penalty movement? Which have been most effective, and which have been rejected by the Supreme Court? What do these cases show about the current status of (and limitations on) capital punishment in the United States? 1. reduce the range of crimes for which the death penalty could be imposed What are the characteristics of mental retardation that are relevant to a discussion of criminal responsibility and culpability? What criteria are generally accepted for diagnosis of retardation? retardation is characterized by significantly sub-average intelligence. It is a condition that normally begins at birth or shortly thereafter and it manifests in early childhood. retarded person fall into a wide range of intellectual deficiencies depending on the extent of retardation, an individual while, mentally slow, may retain the ability to distinguish right from worms and the capacity to control personal behavior. Because of this, less severe forms of retardation may be morally and legally responsible for their actions retardation is not a mental illness. Depression, psychoses and other mental illnesses may contribute to criminal actions and may also reduce criminal culpability Criteria: What are the central arguments on each side of the debate over execution of those with intellectual disabilities? Those who oppose a blanket exemption for the retarded place their primary emphasis on one important factor. The middle retarded are a heterogeneous group. They are all not the same. They have different levels of intelligence, with varying abilities to reason and interact with the world around them some have a greater abilities than others to control their impulses, resist negative social pressures, understand consequences, and distinguish right from wrong all retarded people should not be treated the same for some retarded persons the death penalty may be inappropriate given their limited criminal culpability. for others, however, a severe sentence may well be the most just course. individualized consideration by a jury, taking into account the specific retardation level of the accused as a mitigating factor, is seen as a preferable to exempting all those with intelligence deficiencies Who was Johnny Paul Penry? What did he do? Why was his death sentence controversial? Johnny Paul Penry is a Texas prisoner serving three consecutive sentences of life imprisonment without parole for rape and murder. He was on death row between 1980 and 2008, and his case generated discussion about the appropriateness of the death penalty for offenders who are thought to be intellectually disabled. - Penry was on parole from prison after serving about half of a five year sentence for rape - Penry raped and killed Pamela Carpenter In 1980 a jury promptly convicted him of capital muder, rejecting a defense argument that Penry didn't understand the wrongfulness of his act it was controversial because Penry, a man with the mental age of barely seven years, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. During the trial's proceedings, the jury was not instructed that it could consider the mitigating circumstances of Penry's intellectual disability in imposing its sentence. Leading to the question of whether this was cruel and unusual punishment What were the two parts of the Supreme Court's decision in Johnny Paul Penry v. James A. Lynaugh, Director of the Texas Department of Corrections? Through the decision written by Justice O'Connor's, what did the Court do and refuse to do? 1. Whether the judges instructions to the jury violated the 8th amendment because the jury was not adequately instructed by the judge to consider all the mitigating evidence The Court partially affirmed and partially reversed the lower court's decision. Justice O'Connor argued that the jury was improperly instructed and should have been told that it could have considered Penry's mental deficiencies when imposing its sentence. However, she rejected Penry's blanket claim that generally the Eighth Amendment does not allow death sentences for defendants who are intellectually disabled ("retarded" in the Court's words). What ultimately happened to the Penry case? Penry's sentencing was taken to Texas juries 3 times and each one ended in a jury's recommendation of death. The appellate courts found a reason to reverse each of these death sentences. These appellate reviews included a second trip to the Supreme Court where in, Penry V Johnson (2001), the justices found that the state again failed to provide adequate instructions on mitigating circumstances to the jury \ What was Judge Smiley's background? - life long Virginian What is the purpose of a jury? What is the purpose of the voir dire, and how does it work? Describe the jury selection process in the Atkins case. Does it seem fair? a jury is essentially a fact finding body with the responsibility of evaluating the evidence presented by both sides. Taking this evidence into account, and following the judges instructions, the jury must answer the single factual question that dominates all criminal cases: is the defendant guilty of the crimes charged beyond a reasonable doubt? juries are supposed to be respective member of the community. most jurisdictions use voter registration rolls as their initial source of names. This is convenient because the same age, residency, and citizenship factors are normally used to establish both voter registration lists with names taken from the sources such as tax polls. Jury selection occurs in three stages; compiling a master list, summoning the venire and, conducting voir dire. voir dire: designated to identify jurors who have beliefs or conflicts of interest that would make their participation a particular trial inappropriate How would you characterize the prosecution's strategy in the trial? What did it emphasize? - called Mary Sloan to the witness stand (mother) to speak about his youth and his decision to join the military Addison had a photograph from the Crestare ATM machine and where she identified that was her son, Eric and Atkins had a gun pointed at his head. Sloans testimony not only portrayed a
positive image of her son, but also began to build an understanding of the terror Eric must have experienced as the events of the night unfolded. What was the defense strategy in the trial? the best option available to the defense was to introduce an alternative theory of the crime. Specifically, to show that it was just as a probable William Jones had been the triggerman. Because the hearsay rule blocked the defense from introducing Atkin's statement to the investigator Lyons identifying Jones as the murderer, the only viable option was to put Daryl Atkins on the witness. What effect did the witnesses seem to have? Why would Atkins take the stand himself? Because the hearsay rule blocked the defense from introducing Atkin's statement to the investigator Lyons identifying Jones as the murderer, the only viable option was to put Daryl Atkins on the witness. It allowed Addison pursued other lies and inconsistencies, which was very effective. Reviewing the description of the trial, why do you think it ended with this verdict? he was found guilty of capital murder as charged indictment number one inconsistency, the portrayal of Nesbitt and convincing prosecution Class Notes ... Does the American public support the death penalty majority, yes what percentage of the population thought life in prison is more effective 60% what percent of the population thinks the death penalty is applied fairly 49% in how many states is the death penalty allowed by law 28 in how many states is there no death penalty allowed by law 22 in how many states has the governor halted executions 3 - CA, PA, WA What is the 8th amendment? Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. What is evolving standards of decency? for decades, the Supreme Court and courts around the country have labored to identify the "evolving standards of decency" that classify one punishment as cruel and unusual while permitting another. What is the rule of proportionality? the most general level, proportionality inquires whether the penalty of death is an excessive punishment for the crime or whether the defendant possesses the requisite level of culpability to justify the imposition of a death sentence.
What is stare decisis? What role does it play? - Courts should follow precedents established by other courts What is the fifth amendment? due process of law Furman v. Georgia This 1972 Supreme Court case struck down all state laws allowing the death penalty stating that they allowed for too much discretion on the part of the judge and jury resulting in lack of consistent administration of the penalty. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) Upheld new Georgia death penalty laws requiring dual-phase trial and special circumstances; capital punishment does not constitute cruel & unusual punishment of 8th Amendment. Woodson v. North Carolina (1976) Ruled that a North Carolina law establishing a mandatory death sentence for all convicted first-degree murderers constituted a violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Roberts v. Louisiana (1976)- Louisiana did not put enough discretion on who should be eligible for the death penalty. They narrowed the list of who would be considered for the death penalty, but they still had mandatory death penalty crimes. This was seen by the court as too much discretion. Penry v. Lynaugh Dealt with the death penalty for the mentally retarded... court found that as long as the jury found the person competent to stand trial and rejected the insanity defense then the death penalty is constitutional. what is the average IQ of a person 100 >70 normal 50-70 mild mental retardation 35-50 moderate mental retardation 20-35 severe mental retardation <20 profound mental retardation Criteria: 1. intellectual ability is measured by standardized IQ testing culpability responsibility for a fault or wrong; blame Is mental illness and learning disabilities the same as mental retardation ? no Who was Hinckley Found not guilty of the attempted murder of Reagan by insanity (beyond reasonable doubt) 3 tendencies 1. limited ability to understand consequences of their actions What was the issue that led the Supreme Court to prohibit the use of capital punishment in Furman versus Georgia?The Court found that the death penalty was applied in a manner that disproportionately harmed minorities and the poor. In concurring opinions, Justices Brennan and Marshall argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional under any circumstance, as less severe punishments would serve the same punitive goals.
Which Supreme Court case declared the death penalty unconstitutional quizlet?Furman v. Georgia U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared the death penalty unconstitutional.
Which of the following is true of Furman v. Georgia quizlet?Which of the following is TRUE of Furman v. Georgia? It invalidated death penalty statutes in 41 states.
What impact did Furman v. Georgia have on the death penalty in the United States?On June 29, 1972, the Court decided in a complicated ruling, Furman v. Georgia, that the application of the death penalty in three cases was unconstitutional. The Court would clarify that ruling in a later case in 1976, putting the death penalty back on the books under different circumstances.
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What was the issue that led the Supreme Court to prohibit the use of capital punishment in Furman v. Georgia quizlet?
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