Deck 20: The Death Penalty

Question 1

Public executions were common until the 1830s, when most were moved inside prison walls.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

An offender who presents belated evidence of innocence is entitled to a new hearing in a federal court before execution.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The number of death sentences carried out has declined by more than half since the 1990s.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The case law since Furman indicates capital punishment is legal as long as it is imposed fairly.

Question 5

In a democracy, public opinion usually has little to no impact on public policy.

Question 6

Although Florida is known as the "death penalty capital of the country," the overall percentage of murderers sentenced to death in Florida is actually lower that it is in other surrounding states.

Question 7

Recent evidence has determined that the death penalty does have a deterrent effect on the general public.

Question 8

Insanity is a recognized defense for commission of a crime because mens rea is not present.

Question 9

The belief that one who takes another's life deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate is:​

A) ​a moral argument.
B) ​a utilitarian argument.
C) ​a restorative argument.
D) ​a deterrence argument.

Question 10

Aggravated and mitigating circumstances are looked at during the sentencing phase of a bifurcated trial.

Question 11

Although nearly one of ten arrestees for murder is a woman, judges and juries seem very reluctant to sentence a woman to death.

Question 12

Lethal injection is fast, easy, and painless.

Question 13

Death row inmates tend to be poorly educated men from the middle class.

Question 14

As of 2013, 32 states and the federal government currently recognize capital punishment for those who commit murder.

Question 15

The last public execution in American took place in Wheeling, West Virginia, on November 17, 1929.

Question 16

Use of the death penalty will continue to be a major source of debate among legislators, scholars, and correctional officials.

Question 17

According to opponents of capital punishment, there is no evidence the death penalty deters violent crime.

Question 18

The belief that execution of wrongdoers deters others from committing the crime reflects:​

A) ​a moral belief.
B) ​a utilitarian belief.
C) ​an incapacitative belief.
D) ​a restorative belief.

Question 19

According to opponents of the death penalty, capital punishment is applied in a discriminatory fashion.

Question 20

The case of McCleskey v. Kemp focused on racial discrimination under Georgia's death penalty law.

Question 21

In most Western democracies the death penalty has been:​

A) ​streamlined.
B) ​impartial.
C) ​abolished.
D) ​humanitarian.

Question 22

The term refers to the idea that the punishment of execution will deter others from violent criminal activity.

A) ​incapacitation
B) ​retribution
C) ​deterrence
D) ​rehabilitation

Question 23

To try to ensure a more thorough deliberation before imposing the death sentence, legislatures enacted:​

A) ​an oversight committee.
B) ​a waiting period.
C) ​a sentencing grid.
D) ​a two-stage process.

Question 24

In most parts of United States, executions were carried out in public until the:

A) ​1750s.
B) ​1830s.
C) ​1870s.
D) ​1900s.

Question 25

The term refers to the desire to keep the offender from committing further crimes.

A) ​reintegration
B) ​rehabilitation
C) ​incapacitation
D) ​retribution

Question 26

Which of the following countries has not abolished the death penalty?​

A) ​France
B) ​Germany
C) ​China
D) ​Australia

Question 27

In Ford v. Wainwright the Supreme Court ruled that should not be executed.

A) ​the insane
B) ​juveniles
C) ​veterans
D) ​disabled people

Question 28

Since 1976 the number of people facing the death penalty has:​

A) ​declined.
B) ​increased.
C) ​stabilized.
D) ​diminished.

Question 29

According to the authors, until the mid-1700s criminal punishment in Europe and American colonies focused on which of the following?​

A) ​mutilation
B) ​whipping
C) ​dismemberment
D) ​all of these

Question 30

The case of held that potential jurors who object to the death penalty cannot be automatically excluded from jury service in capital cases.

A) ​Gideon v. Wainwright
B) ​Witherspoon v. Illinois
C) ​Gregg v. Georgia
D) ​Furman v. Georgia

Question 31

After 1935 the number of executions began to:​

A) ​decline.
B) ​soar.
C) ​climb.
D) ​stabilize.

Question 32

Opponents of the death penalty argue that only has the right to take a life.

A) ​a victim
B) ​the survivors
C) ​the state
D) ​God

Question 33

The latest attempt to impose capital punishment in a way that does not offend modern cultural sensibilities is:​

A) ​the gas chamber.
B) ​the electric chair.
C) ​lethal injection.
D) ​the firing squad.

Question 34

Research shows that the death penalty is more likely to be imposed when:​

A) ​the offender is white.
B) ​the offender is African American.
C) ​the victim is white.
D) ​the victim is African American.

Question 35

In Atkins v. Virginia the Supreme Court ruled that:​

A) ​executing the mentally retarded is unconstitutional.
B) ​discrimination must be proven in each case.
C) ​the death penalty is unconstitutional.
D) ​bifurcated trials are constitutional.

Question 36

Because of the heinous nature of the crime, several states have sought to enact laws permitting use of the death penalty for adults who:​

A) ​kill a child while drunk driving.
B) ​rape a child.
C) ​molest a child.
D) ​neglect a child.

Question 37

The number of states without the death penalty has in recent years.

A) ​decreased
B) ​remained unchanged
C) ​increased
D) ​stabilized

Question 38

Current case law indicates that capital punishment is legal as long as:​

A) ​the voters of the state approve it.
B) ​it is administered to deliver the least amount of pain.
C) ​it is lethal injection and not electrocution.
D) ​it is imposed fairly.

Question 39

Analysts argue that public opinion for the death penalty is:

A) ​impossible to gauge.
B) ​strongly in favor.
C) ​strongly opposed.
D) ​somewhat confusing.

Question 40

The term refers to the belief that one who takes another's life deserves punishment equal to the victim's fate.

A) ​incapacitation
B) ​retribution
C) ​rehabilitation
D) ​incapacitation

Question 41

The utilitarian argument in support of capital punishment is based on the belief that execution of offenders ____________ others from committing murder.

Question 42

Consular officials must be notified when a foreign national is:

A) ​arrested.
B) ​executed.
C) ​deported.
D) ​exiled.

Question 43

The case of examined whether or not the death penalty was administered in a cruel and unusual manner.

Question 44

Most death penalty defendants are and are provided counsel by the state.

Question 45

In ____________, the Supreme Court ruled that offenders cannot be sentenced to death for acts committed prior to reaching the age of 18.

A)Roper v. Simmons
B)Atkins v. Virginia
C)Tennessee v. Garner
D)Ring v. Arizona

Question 46

In Furman v. Georgia (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that the way the death penalty was administered constituted .

Question 47

Opponents of the death penalty state that only ___________ has the right to take a life.

Question 48

The most common method used in executions in the United States today is _______________.

Question 49

In which case was it ruled that offenders cannot receive the death sentence if they were under 18 at the time of the crime?​

A) ​Ring v. Arizona
B) ​Georgia v. Furman
C) ​McCleskey v. Kemp
D) ​Roper v. Simmons

Question 50

Currently within the United States, challenges to are taking place in most states with an active death penalty.

Question 51

In ___________________, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was itself not unconstitutional, but the way it was administrated constituted cruel and unusual punishment.

A) ​Furman v. Georgia
B) ​Cameron v. Klenowski
C) ​Gregg v. Georgia
D) ​Gideon v. Wainwright

Question 52

In the United States, a recent poll indicated that __________ percent of the population favors capital punishment.

A) ​10
B) ​60
C) ​25
D) ​90

Question 53

The case of showed that a three-drug lethal injection protocol violates the "cruel and unusual punishment" clause.

A) ​Gideon v. Wainwright
B) ​Gagnon v. Scarpelli
C) ​Gregg v. Georgia
D) ​Baze v. Rees

Question 54

states and the federal government currently authorize capital punishment.

Question 55

In ______________, the Supreme Court ruled that juries, not judges, must make the crucial factual decisions as to whether a convicted murderer should receive the death penalty.

A) ​Roper v. Simmons
B) ​Atkins v Virginia
C) ​Gregg v. Georgia
D) ​Ring v. Arizona

Question 56

In Ring v. Arizona the Supreme Court ruled that must make the factual decisions as to whether a convicted murderer should receive the punishment of death.

Question 57

Retribution, incapacitation, and _________ are usually cited as the reasons for keeping the death penalty.

Question 58

The Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 59

The case of decided that a court that was hearing a death penalty case must use a bifurcated system of judgment.

Question 60

Legal cases continue to raise concerns about the lengthy periods that condemned offenders spend on death row because of .

Question 61

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Furman v. Georgia​

Question 62

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Aggravating​

Question 63

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Strickland v. Washington​

Question 64

In the case of _________________, the Supreme Court ruled that defendants had the right to counsel that meets an "objective standard of reasonableness."​

Question 65

Given that the death penalty has been abolished in other Western democracies, why do a majority of people in the United States still favor its use? Be sure to fully explain your answer.

Question 66

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Three-drug protocol​

Question 67

The biggest demographic predictor of attitudes toward capital punishment is ___________.

Question 68

Why did the state of Illinois put a moratorium on capital punishment? Is this a favorable resolution of their
problem? Should the rest of the United States follow Illinois' example? Why or why not?

Question 69

The number of people facing the death penalty in America has ____________ dramatically.

Question 70

Discuss two arguments for and two arguments against capital punishment. Identify whether each argument is rooted in moral or utilitarian principles. How are these two philosophical stances different?​

Question 71

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Baze v. Rees​

Question 72

List and explain three significant Supreme Court cases that addressed key issues around how capital punishment is be carried out. Do you think the court made the correct decision in each case? Why or why not?​

Question 73

In the case of __________________, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty could be reinstated throughout the United States after being ruled unconstitutional four years prior.

Question 74

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Ford v. Wainwright​

Question 75

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Mitigating​

Question 76

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Gregg v. Georgia​

Question 77

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Retribution​

Question 78

Match each item to the phrase or sentence listed below.
a.Objective standard for defense counsel
b.Circumstances that increase seriousness of crime
c.Deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate
d.The three-drug protocol is constitutional
e.Developed in the late 1970s
f.Separate hearings for guilt and sentencing
g.Execution of the insane
h.Circumstances that invite mercy
i.Reinstituted death penalty
j.Death penalty unconstitutional
Bifurcated