Deck 12: The Death Penalty in America

Question 1

More than __________ of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.

A) one-third
B) one-fourth
C) two-thirds
D) two-fifths

Answer 1

C

Question 2

__________ is clearly moving toward the abolition of the death penalty.

A) The Supreme Court
B) The United States
C) International law
D) The United Nations

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The history of the death penalty in the __________ is closely connected to the region's racial history.

A) American South
B) United States
C) American North
D) Europe

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Another word for a suspension of executions is ________.

A) moratorium
B) suspension
C) mortuary
D) appeal

Question 5

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in this case that the death penalty as administered was unconstitutional.

A) Miranda v. Arizona
B) Estelle v. Gamble
C) Furman v. Georgia
D) Roberts v. Louisiana

Question 6

The Court ruled that mandatory statutes that required imposition of the death penalty upon conviction of certain crimes were __________, but it approved statutes that provided juries with aggravating and mitigating circumstances to guide their sentencing discretion.

A) unconstitutional
B) constitutional
C) legal
D) illegal

Question 7

Capital trials were redesigned to consist of a __________ or two separate phases.

A) multiple phase
B) split phase
C) guided discretion
D) bifurcated system

Question 8

The death penalty statute lists __________ circumstances, which typically include factors such as the offender having previous convictions for violent crimes or whether the homicide was committed in the course of a felony or was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.

A) guided
B) mitigating
C) circumstantial
D) aggravating

Question 9

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the average length of time between imposition of the death sentence and execution is more than __________ years.

A) 14
B) 25
C) 10
D) 17

Question 10

At the current rate of executions in the United States, it would take more than __________ years to execute those already on death row.

A) 14
B) 75
C) 50
D) 15

Question 11

The majority of individuals sentenced to death have been put to death by ________.

A) electrocution
B) lethal injection
C) hanging
D) firing squads

Question 12

Approximately 83% of all death row inmates are found in the __________ or __________ regions of the United States.

A) Western; Northern
B) Southern; Eastern
C) Northern; Eastern
D) Southern; Western

Question 13

__________ is the most active death penalty state.

A) Alabama
B) Florida
C) California
D) Texas

Question 14

__________ has the largest death row population in the United States, but has executed only 13 inmates since 1977.

A) California
B) Texas
C) Florida
D) Oregon

Question 15

This Court case ruled the death penalty is unconstitutional for the mentally retarded.

A) Baze et al. v. Rees
B) Roper v. Simmons
C) Furman v. Georgia
D) Atkins v. Virginia

Question 16

This Court case ruled that the death penalty cannot be used with juveniles.

A) Roper v. Simmons
B) Atkins v. Virginia
C) Baze et al. v. Rees
D) Furman v. Georgia

Question 17

The Court ruled in this case that lethal injection is not cruel and unusual punishment.

A) Atkins v. Virginia
B) Furman v. Georgia
C) Roper v. Simmons
D) Baze et al. v. Rees

Question 18

Liebman, Fagan, and West (2000) examined all death penalty sentences for a 22- year period, and found that __________ of all death sentences were later overturned by appeals courts.

A) 90%
B) 50%
C) 68%
D) 75%

Question 19

A 2009 Gallup Poll demonstrated that __________ of respondents did believe that the United States has executed someone in the past five years who was innocent of the crime.

A) 59%
B) 68%
C) 70%
D) 55%

Question 20

Since 1973, __________ people condemned to death have been exonerated and released.

A) 200
B) 139
C) 13
D) 25

Question 21

__________ counter that the cases of exoneration prove that the system does make mistakes, and we have no way of knowing how many other mistakes have not been caught and rectified.

A) Abolitionists
B) Retentionists
C) Prosecutors
D) Defense Attorneys

Question 22

Liebman et al.'s (2000) study regarding death sentence reversals found that one of the most common reasons for reversal was the result of __________ of evidence that the defendant is innocent or does not deserve the death penalty.

A) lack of effective counsel
B) attorney/client privilege
C) prosecutorial suppression
D) juries not following instructions

Question 23

__________ sometimes point out that many endeavors run the risk of death for innocent people; we try to minimize the risk, but accept that some fatal errors will be made.

A) Defense attorneys
B) Abolitionists
C) Retentionists
D) Prosecutors

Question 24

People who are convicted of killing __________ are more likely to receive the death sentence than those convicted of killing __________.

A) males; females
B) females; males
C) blacks; whites
D) whites; blacks

Question 25

In this case the Court held that to make a showing of racial discrimination sufficient to overturn a death sentence, a defendant would have to demonstrate that some decisionmaker-judge, prosecutor, or jury-acted with "discriminatory purpose" against him or her.

A) Furman v. Georgia
B) McCleskey v. Kemp
C) Roper v. Simmons
D) Atkins v. Virginia

Question 26

More than two-thirds of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.

Question 27

The history of the death penalty in the American South is closely connected to the region's racial history.

Question 28

The current death penalty system is the same as the pre-Furman system of capital punishment.

Question 29

The Supreme Court has ruled that lethal injection is not cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 30

A 2009 Gallup Poll demonstrated that 59% of respondents did believe that the United States has executed someone in the past five years who was innocent of the crime.

Question 31

Can the administration of the death penalty be improved by changing the laws? Draft a model death penalty statute that you think would adequately guide juror discretion.

Question 32

What are some ways society could help murder victims' family members beyond convicting and sentencing the offender?

Question 33

A Supreme Court ruling now prevents juveniles from being sentenced to death. Do you support or oppose this ruling, and why?

Question 34

Should the policies of the United States' criminal justice system be influenced by practices in other countries? Why or why not?

Question 35

A number of recent executions have been "botched"-that is, the prisoners' deaths were prolonged and possibly quite painful. Does the state have an obligation to provide a quick and painless means of death?

Question 36

Some people support a moratorium on executions until the system can be studied and any flaws that are found can be corrected. Others argue that the moratorium effort is really an attempt to abolish the death penalty permanently. Discuss the pros and cons of a moratorium.

Question 37

How large a part should the wishes of the victim's family play in determining a sentence? If family wishes should be given great weight, what should be done when members of the same family disagree as to the proper punishment?

Question 38

How much, if any, consideration should be given to the effect of a death sentence on the prisoner's family? Is this a sufficient reason to spare people from execution?

Question 39

Ethics Focus: Life Without Parole
After the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional for juveniles (Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 2005), many people thought that this solved the problem of inappropriate sentences for juvenile murderers. What has happened, however, is that now many juvenile murderers are receiving Life-without-Parole sentences (LWOP). The latest available information shows that some 2,225 juveniles are serving LWOP sentences (Feld, 2008).
Critics argue that LWOP sentences are also inappropriate for juveniles. The same rationale that influenced the Supreme Court to rule capital punishment unconstitutional for juveniles-that juveniles are developmentally immature and therefore not fully accountable for their actions-applies to LWOP sentences. In other words, many argue that the psychological immaturity and impulsivity of juveniles should also rule out a sentence of life without parole. Feld (2008), for example, argues that juveniles' lack of complete development should dictate a sentence of no longer than 20 to 30 years for even the most serious crimes.
In the Roper decision, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that he would leave the decision of the penalty for a murder by a juvenile in the hands of the jury in that case. He argued that the jury should take into account the possible immaturity of the juvenile and decide whether to impose the death penalty. So, perhaps, he would argue for such jury decisionmaking concerning life without parole. Recall also, however, that youth (immaturity) is supposed to be a mitigator that juries consider to reduce sentences down from the death penalty. In practice, though, juries often use youth (young age) as an aggravator; juries often think that if an offender is young he represents a greater danger and therefore should receive a harsher or longer sentence. [Note: In June 2012, in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said states can no longer hand out automatic life-without-parole sentences to juveniles convicted of certain violent crimes.]
-Do you think age should be considered a mitigating circumstance? Why or why not?

Question 40

Ethics Focus: Life Without Parole
After the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional for juveniles (Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 2005), many people thought that this solved the problem of inappropriate sentences for juvenile murderers. What has happened, however, is that now many juvenile murderers are receiving Life-without-Parole sentences (LWOP). The latest available information shows that some 2,225 juveniles are serving LWOP sentences (Feld, 2008).
Critics argue that LWOP sentences are also inappropriate for juveniles. The same rationale that influenced the Supreme Court to rule capital punishment unconstitutional for juveniles-that juveniles are developmentally immature and therefore not fully accountable for their actions-applies to LWOP sentences. In other words, many argue that the psychological immaturity and impulsivity of juveniles should also rule out a sentence of life without parole. Feld (2008), for example, argues that juveniles' lack of complete development should dictate a sentence of no longer than 20 to 30 years for even the most serious crimes.
In the Roper decision, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that he would leave the decision of the penalty for a murder by a juvenile in the hands of the jury in that case. He argued that the jury should take into account the possible immaturity of the juvenile and decide whether to impose the death penalty. So, perhaps, he would argue for such jury decisionmaking concerning life without parole. Recall also, however, that youth (immaturity) is supposed to be a mitigator that juries consider to reduce sentences down from the death penalty. In practice, though, juries often use youth (young age) as an aggravator; juries often think that if an offender is young he represents a greater danger and therefore should receive a harsher or longer sentence. [Note: In June 2012, in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said states can no longer hand out automatic life-without-parole sentences to juveniles convicted of certain violent crimes.]
-Do you think age should be considered an aggravating circumstance? Why or why not?

Question 41

Ethics Focus: Life Without Parole
After the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was unconstitutional for juveniles (Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 2005), many people thought that this solved the problem of inappropriate sentences for juvenile murderers. What has happened, however, is that now many juvenile murderers are receiving Life-without-Parole sentences (LWOP). The latest available information shows that some 2,225 juveniles are serving LWOP sentences (Feld, 2008).
Critics argue that LWOP sentences are also inappropriate for juveniles. The same rationale that influenced the Supreme Court to rule capital punishment unconstitutional for juveniles-that juveniles are developmentally immature and therefore not fully accountable for their actions-applies to LWOP sentences. In other words, many argue that the psychological immaturity and impulsivity of juveniles should also rule out a sentence of life without parole. Feld (2008), for example, argues that juveniles' lack of complete development should dictate a sentence of no longer than 20 to 30 years for even the most serious crimes.
In the Roper decision, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that he would leave the decision of the penalty for a murder by a juvenile in the hands of the jury in that case. He argued that the jury should take into account the possible immaturity of the juvenile and decide whether to impose the death penalty. So, perhaps, he would argue for such jury decisionmaking concerning life without parole. Recall also, however, that youth (immaturity) is supposed to be a mitigator that juries consider to reduce sentences down from the death penalty. In practice, though, juries often use youth (young age) as an aggravator; juries often think that if an offender is young he represents a greater danger and therefore should receive a harsher or longer sentence. [Note: In June 2012, in a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court said states can no longer hand out automatic life-without-parole sentences to juveniles convicted of certain violent crimes.]
-Do you support the death penalty for juveniles or do you think LWOP is a more appropriate punishment? Explain your answer.