Capital Punishment: Debates & Arguments About the Death Penalty
Debates about the death penalty sometimes take a back seat to those over matters such as abortion, but they don't really end and they rarely seem to arrive at any sort of conclusion. This shouldn't be a surprise - capital punishment has been in regular use in the West for thousands of years, and no one started to question it in a serious manner until a couple of centuries ago.
Religion and the Insanity Plea
There appears to be a decent solution to the defense of the insanity plea, but that solution is not as clean and neat as it might initially appear. It certainly gives us a better foundation for deciding whether or not a person might be insane because most people can agree that when a person experiences not reality but rather some strange un-reality, then there is something wrong with them.
There appears to be a decent solution to the defense of the insanity plea, but that solution is not as clean and neat as it might initially appear. It certainly gives us a better foundation for deciding whether or not a person might be insane because most people can agree that when a person experiences not reality but rather some strange un-reality, then there is something wrong with them.
Insanity Pleas & Capital Punishment: Knowing Right from Wrong
Sometimes, when one person kills another, the defense offered in court is that although the accused did commit the crime, they should not be held legally culpable because they were insane. How is such a person deemed insane? Before we decide that a person is legally insane, we first have to determine what it means to be sane, much less insane.
Sometimes, when one person kills another, the defense offered in court is that although the accused did commit the crime, they should not be held legally culpable because they were insane. How is such a person deemed insane? Before we decide that a person is legally insane, we first have to determine what it means to be sane, much less insane.
What Price Justice? Thoughts on the Death Penalty
Capital cases are very expensive. Indeed, their expense is one of the reasons that people call for changes in how they are handled. Those accused of and convicted on capital charges get many opportunities to challenge what has happened to them, with appeals sometimes dragging on for years. Should the public pay for all of this?
Capital cases are very expensive. Indeed, their expense is one of the reasons that people call for changes in how they are handled. Those accused of and convicted on capital charges get many opportunities to challenge what has happened to them, with appeals sometimes dragging on for years. Should the public pay for all of this?
Death & Insanity: Thoughts on the Death Penalty
It is a known fact that a great many of the people sitting on death row are either mentally handicapped or mentally ill. According to a 1987 report by the Clearinghouse on Georgia Jails and Prisons, 20% of that state’s death row inmates were either severely mentally handicapped or of below normal intelligence.
It is a known fact that a great many of the people sitting on death row are either mentally handicapped or mentally ill. According to a 1987 report by the Clearinghouse on Georgia Jails and Prisons, 20% of that state’s death row inmates were either severely mentally handicapped or of below normal intelligence.
Victims' Rights: Thoughts on the Death Penalty
Since the 1970s, a movement has grown around the idea of 'Victims' Rights,' displacing the more traditional concept of 'Law and Order' being the basis of criminal law and prosecution. According to this new theory, crimes are committed not so much against a community, but instead just against individuals - and because of this, those individuals need to have a new say in how accused criminals are prosecuted and/or how convicted criminals are sentenced.
Since the 1970s, a movement has grown around the idea of 'Victims' Rights,' displacing the more traditional concept of 'Law and Order' being the basis of criminal law and prosecution. According to this new theory, crimes are committed not so much against a community, but instead just against individuals - and because of this, those individuals need to have a new say in how accused criminals are prosecuted and/or how convicted criminals are sentenced.
Innocence, Guilt, and Money: Thoughts on the Death Penalty
The OJ Simpson trial provided interesting lessons regarding guilt, innocence and criminal procedure, but the most interesting lesson was that none of the real lessons were ever learned or broadly applied. People all over America watched the trial, but it’s unclear whether they really learned anything from it. That’s a shame because it was such an opportunity.
The OJ Simpson trial provided interesting lessons regarding guilt, innocence and criminal procedure, but the most interesting lesson was that none of the real lessons were ever learned or broadly applied. People all over America watched the trial, but it’s unclear whether they really learned anything from it. That’s a shame because it was such an opportunity.