Deck 15: Death: the Ultimate Sanction

Question 1

The method of execution for federal prisoners prosecuted under the Code of Federal Regulations is:

A)lethal gas.
B)electrocution.
C)hanging.
D)lethal injection.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Federal prosecutors who wish to file capital charges are required to obtain authorization from:

A)the governor of that state.
B)the President.
C)the Attorney General.
D)the Senate.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

After a brief moratorium,from 1968 to 1977,_____ was the first person to be executed,by the state of Utah.

A)Charles Manson
B)Gary Gilmore
C)Ted Bundy
D)John Wayne Gacy

Answer 3

B

Question 4

"From this day forward,I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death.The death penalty experiment has failed" was written by:
A)Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
B)Justice Harry

A)Blackmun
C)Associate Justice Stephen Breyer
D)Justice Sandra Day O'Connor

Question 5

In 1972,the case of _____ ruled that the application of the death penalty,as it was then being carried out,was unconstitutional and set aside 40 death penalty statutes.

A)Furman v.Georgia
B)Gregg v.Georgia
C)Witherspoon v.Illinois
D)Roberts v.Louisiana

Question 6

Today,the Federal government uses _____ for executions.

A)electrocution
B)lethal gas
C)hanging
D)lethal injection

Question 7

The case of _____ supported the use of the death penalty if the State used guided discretionary capital statutes.

A)Furman v.Georgia
B)Gregg v.Georgia
C)Roberts v.Louisiana
D)Witherspoon v.Illinois

Question 8

Recently,which method of execution was found to be unconstitutional?

A)Lethal injection
B)Electrocution
C)Lethal gas
D)All of these are still considered constitutional

Question 9

In most states,which of the following is a paralytic agent used in the lethal injection administered for the execution of an inmate?

A)Pentobarbital
B)Pancuronium bromide
C)Sodium thiopental
D)Potassium chloride

Question 10

The _____ authorized capital punishment for murder committed by people involved in certain drug trafficking activities.

A)Orphan Drug Act
B)Misuse of Drug Act
C)Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act
D)Anti-Drug Abuse Act

Question 11

Which of the following statements is true of the use of capital punishment in history?

A)Capital punishment was used exceptionally throughout the world during the 20^th century.
B)Torture was a form of leniency.
C)Death came as a relief when compared to torture.
D)Capital punishment was only imposed on murder crimes.

Question 12

In most states,_____ is the substance used to cause an inmate's death by stopping their heart during an execution using lethal injection.

A)sodium thiopental
B)pavulon
C)potassium chloride
D)cyanide

Question 13

As of April 25,2012,_____ states allow capital punishment in the United States.

A)15
B)25
C)31
D)33

Question 14

The first federal death penalty was used on June 25,1790,when:

A)Thomas Bird was hanged for murder in Maine.
B)Jordan Brown was executed for robbery in Pennsylvania.
C)Larry Singleton was electrocuted for rape in California.
D)Jodi Arias was hanged for murder in Colorado.

Question 15

Currently,_____ is the predominant method of execution in the United States.

A)lethal injection
B)lethal gas
C)hanging
D)firing squad

Question 16

According to George Lombardi,mainstreaming death row prisoners with the general population:

A)increases operating costs.
B)restricts the movement of non-death-row inmates due to security concerns.
C)provides death row inmates more access to visitation,recreation,and prison programs.
D)increases inmate violence and disciplinary actions.

Question 17

"If statistics are any indication,the system may well be allowing some innocent defendants to be executed" said Justice:

A)William Rehnquist.
B)Antonin Scalia.
C)Stephen Breyer.
D)Sandra Day O'Connor.

Question 18

In the case of _____ the Court held that a potential juror's mere reservation about the death penalty was insufficient grounds to prevent that person from serving on the jury in a death penalty.

A)Furman v.Georgia
B)Gregg v.Georgia
C)Woodson v.North Carolina
D)Witherspoon v.Illinois

Question 19

The _____ leads the United States in executions.

A)North
B)South
C)East
D)West

Question 20

Which of the following statements is true of the Federal Death Penalty Act?

A)It permits the federal government to seek death penalty for Native Americans whose offense occurred within the boundaries of Indian country.
B)It incorporated the Supreme Court law ban on execution of offenders with mental retardation and juveniles.
C)It does not exempt women from death penalty while they are pregnant.
D)It restricts federal employees who oppose the death penalty to opt out of participating in executions.

Question 21

Which of the following factors may be considered to increase the culpability of the offender?

A)The age of the defendant at the time of the crime.
B)The defendant has no significant history of prior criminal activity.
C)The victim was a participant in the defendant's conduct or consented to the act.
D)The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many people.

Question 22

The new Federal Death Penalty Act requires that a minimum of two lawyers be appointed to represent federal capital defendants.

Question 23

The case of Furman v.Georgia ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional because it was cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 24

Which of the following best describes a writ of certiorari?

A)It is a written order to the lower court whose decision is being appealed to send the records of a case forward for review.
B)It is issued by a higher court to a lower court prohibiting it from taking up a case because it falls outside the lower court's jurisdiction.
C)It is a written order issued against a person who claims or takes a position of power in a public office.
D)It is issued to a detaining authority,instructing the detainer to present the detained person in the issuing court along with the reason for detention.

Question 25

In 1988,President Reagan signed into the law the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.

Question 26

The Supreme Court ruled in the case of _____ that it was unconstitutional and a violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment to execute people for crimes that were committed before turning age 18.

A)Furman v.Georgia
B)Woodson v.North Carolina
C)Thompson v.Oklahoma
D)Roper v.Simmons

Question 27

In the case of _____,the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to sentence a 15-year-old to death.

A)Thompson v.Oklahoma
B)Gregg v.Georgia
C)Woodson v.North Carolina
D)Witherspoon v.Illinois

Question 28

As a consequence of the Furman decision,the laws of all states require that legal issues about the trial and sentencing be:

A)rejected if flawed at trial.
B)compared with issues of a similar case.
C)reviewed immediately by a jury and a panel of judges.
D)automatically appealed to the state appellate court.

Question 29

Gary Gilmore was executed by a firing squad.

Question 30

Although 33 states,the U.S.military,and the federal government do not allow capital punishment and 17 states and the District of Columbia allow it.

Question 31

In the 1989 case of Stanford v.Kentucky,the Court:

A)held that the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment did not forbid imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by people at 16 and 17 years of age.
B)ruled in a 5-4 opinion that it was unconstitutional to sentence a 15-year-old to death.
C)held that a potential juror's mere reservations about the death penalty were insufficient grounds to prevent that person from serving on the jury in a death penalty case.
D)ruled that the death penalty,as imposed and carried out under the laws of Georgia,was cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Question 32

In 1976,the Supreme Court rejected mandatory death penalty statutes in the case of:

A)Furman v.Georgia.
B)Gregg v.Georgia.
C)Woodson v.North Carolina.
D)Witherspoon v.Illinois.

Question 33

When the court has two separate hearings for different issues in a trial,one for guilt and the other for punishment,it is known as a:

A)bifurcated trial.
B)trial by ordeal.
C)blended trial.
D)posthumous trial.

Question 34

On June 19,2002,the Supreme Court held in _____ that the execution of the mentally retarded is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

A)Atkins v.Virginia
B)Stanford v.Kentucky
C)Woodson v.North Carolina
D)Thompson v.Oklahoma

Question 35

From 1972,the year of the Supreme Court's Furman decision until the late 1980s,federal capital prosecutions were rare.

Question 36

In the United States today,all states allow for capital punishment for certain crimes.

Question 37

At one time,the death penalty was common throughout the world.

Question 38

Which of the following factors may reduce the culpability of the offender?

A)The capital felony was committed for pecuniary gain.
B)The capital felony was especially heinous,atrocious,or cruel.
C)The defendant has no significant history of prior criminal activity.
D)The defendant knowingly created a great risk of death to many people.

Question 39

The Liebman study concluded the overall rate of prejudicial error in the American capital punishment system is:

A)23%.
B)68%.
C)92%.
D)19%.

Question 40

As of March 2013,the majority of countries still had the death penalty for the crime of murder.

Question 41

In 1976,the Supreme Court rejected mandatory death penalty statutes in the case of _____.

Question 42

Federal prosecutors who wish to file capital charges are required to obtain authorization from the President.

Question 43

Decision making bounded by general guidelines,rules,or laws is known as _____.

Question 44

The firing squad was found to be unconstitutional in 2003.

Question 45

Currently,the predominant method of executions in the United States is _____.

Question 46

Factors that,although not justifying or excusing an action,may reduce the culpability of the offender are called _____.

Question 47

The American Medical Association's Code of Ethics prohibits physicians from participating in the administration of a lethal injection.

Question 48

The federal death row is located in _____.

Question 49

A death sentence that the legislature has required to be imposed upon people convicted of certain offenses is called a _____.

Question 50

The region of the United States that leads in executions is the _____.

Question 51

Even though Texas executes more people than any other state,its murder rate is above the national average.

Question 52

When the court has two separate hearings for different issues in a trial,one for guilt and the other for punishment,it is called a _____.

Question 53

After a brief moratorium,from 1968 to 1977,_____ became the first person to be executed in the new era of capital punishment.

Question 54

The lawful imposition of the death penalty is known as _____.

Question 55

The federal death row is located in Washington,
D.
C.
FALSE

Question 56

Currently,the predominant method of executions in the United States is lethal injection.

Question 57

Today,the federal government uses _____ for executions.

Question 58

To clear of blame and release from death row is called _____.

Question 59

A crime for which the death penalty may but need not necessarily be imposed is known as _____.

Question 60

A prison area housing inmates who have been sentenced to death is known as _____.

Question 61

On June 19,2002,the Supreme Court held in _____ that the execution of the mentally retarded is cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

Question 62

Federal prosecutors who wish to file capital charges are required to obtain authorization from _____.
Short

Question 63

In the case of _____ the Court held that a potential juror's mere reservation about the death penalty were insufficient grounds to prevent that person from serving on the jury in a death penalty case.

Question 64

In 1972,the case of _____ ruled that the application of the death penalty,as it was then being carried out,was unconstitutional and set aside 40 death penalty statutes.

Question 65

Factors that may be considered to increase the culpability of the offender are called _____.

Question 66

The Supreme Court ruled in _____ that it was unconstitutional and a violation of the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment to execute people for crimes that were committed before turning age 18.