Topic - thesis The death penalty should be illegal – Innocent people are convicted and killed It is prejudiced against minorities It doesn’t deter crime

Topic - thesis

The death penalty should be illegal – •Innocent people are convicted and killed•It is prejudiced against minorities•It doesn’t deter crime

Background Information

•Incident people have been executed, seems to be ethnically imbalanced, expensive, unethical – probably include stats on what states have death penalty, how many people have been put to death, startling fact on innocent person executed to get attention

Source: Source Citation from Easybib or Son of a Citation Machine

Innocent People Convicted

“Paul House Fully Cleared in 1986 TN Death Row Conviction; Case is “a profound reminder

that our system of justice must give people every reasonable opportunity to prove their

innocence”Direct quote

Source:

"The Innocence Project - Home." The Innocence Project. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.innocenceproject.org/>.

Innocent People ConvictedThere have been 238 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.

• The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 33 states; since 2000, there have been 170 exonerations.

• 17 of the 238 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row.• The average length of time served by exonerees is 12 years. The total number of

years served is approximately 2,968.• The average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions was 26.

2nd notQuote – need to summarize = same source as first slide

Source:

"The Innocence Project - Facts on Post-Conviction DNA Exonerations." The Innocence Project. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Facts_on_PostConviction_DNA_Exonerations.php>.


Races of the 238 exonerees:142 African Americans

65 Caucasians21 Latinos

1 Asian American9 whose race is unknown

Quote

Source: "The Innocence Project - Home." The Innocence Project. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.innocenceproject.org/>.

Innocent People Convicted•Notes Section



•Notes Section


Refutation

•Notes Section


There is a color bias.Two of the country's foremost researchers on race and capital punishment, law

professor David Baldus and statistician George Woodworth, along with colleagues in Philadelphia, have conducted a careful analysis of race and the

death penalty in Philadelphia which reveals that the odds of receiving a death sentence are nearly four times (3.9) higher if the defendant is black. These

results were obtained after analyzing and controlling for case differences such as the severity of the crime and the background of the defendant. The data were

subjected to various forms of analysis, but the conclusion was clear: blacks were being sentenced to death far in excess of other defendants for similar crimes.

Quote – need to paraphrase or summarize before putting in my paper

Source:

"The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides>.

There is a color bias.“The most in-depth and detailed study of race and the death penalty in North Carolina's history shows clearly that race infects and undermines the capital punishment system in

the state. The study, released today by the Common Sense Foundation and the North Carolina Council of Churches, finds that defendants whose victims are white are 3.5 times

more likely to be sentenced to death than defendants whose victims are non-white. "Sadly, this study shows that skin color still plays a major role in deciding who lives and

who dies in our criminal justice system," said Jack Boger, Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law and principal director of the study. "Despite a generation of

legal and cultural efforts to eliminate discrimination, these results show that racial bias still dramatically affects the most final of judgments - who gets the death penalty." “

Quote – need to paraphrase or summarize for paper

Source:"Press Release: LANDMARK NORTH CAROLINA DEATH PENALTY STUDY FINDS DRAMATIC RACIAL BIAS." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/press-release-landmark-north-carolina-death-penalty-study-finds-dramatic-racial-bias>.

There is a color bias.

•Notes Section



•Notes Section



•Notes Section


Refutation

•Notes Section


It isn’t a deterent for crime

•Notes Section



•Notes Section



•Notes Section



•Notes Section



•Notes Section


Refutation

•Notes Section


ConclusionRestate your thesis statement.

What are your main reasons?

What is your big idea?

Bibliography

"The Innocence Project - Home." The Innocence Project. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.innocenceproject.org/>.

"The Innocence Project - Facts on Post-Conviction DNA Exonerations." The Innocence Project. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Facts_on_PostConviction_DNA_Exonerations.php.

"The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides>.

"Press Release: LANDMARK NORTH CAROLINA DEATH PENALTY STUDY FINDS DRAMATIC RACIAL BIAS." Death Penalty Information Center. Web. 26 Mar. 2012. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/press-release-landmark-north-carolina-death-penalty-study-finds-dramatic-racial-bias>.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Facts_on_PostConviction_DNA_Exonerations.php




Documents

Topic - thesis The death penalty should be illegal – Innocent people are convicted and killed It is prejudiced against minorities It doesn’t deter crime