legal advice

Capital punishment is the legal process which ends the life of a convicted felon. In theory, it is applicable only to cases involving murder. Since the practice was re-instated in the United States in 1976, 1009 people have been executed, as of April 2008. The United States is the only industrial, fully developed, Western country that still allows the death penalty.

Despite its somewhat frequent use, the death penalty garners a lot of attention and controversy. Arguments, both for and against the practice, are based on a combination of factors including morals, practicality, religion, and emotions. The arguments in favor of the death penalty generally focus on its ability to deter crime, its guarantee that a convicted murderer won't murder again, the closure it provides to surviving victims or loved ones, and its perceived justness for some crimes.

The arguments against the death penalty are much more varied. Frequently, they focus on refuting the arguments made in favor of the death penalty. Another argument is that the practice cheapens human life. Opponents also note that using the death penalty sinks governments to the same level as criminals. Other people object to the practice based on its history of bias and the number of cases in which it has been determined after the felon is executed that he or she was, in fact, innocent.

In 1972, during the decision for Furman v Georgia, the Supreme Court completely stopped the practice of capital punishment. The court struck down all capital punishment statutes in the country. Many at the time felt that the majority of the states would not re-write or re-create death penalty laws; however, 37 of the 50 states enacted new capital punishment laws.

The states that adopted new capital punishment statutes created either mandatory or bifurcated laws. Mandatory laws remove juror discretion from the sentencing process. Some crimes automatically receive the death penalty. Bifurcated statutes split the process into two trials. The first trial determines whether the accused is innocent or guilty. A second trial decides the sentence for the convicted. These statutes also involve various procedural limitations on a jury's ability to pronounce a death sentence.

The Supreme Court effectively re-instated capital punishment when it upheld bifurcated sentencing procedures in Gregg v Georgia in 1976. In 1977, the court removed the death penalty for rape convictions and, by implication, for any offense other than murder.

# posted by gopi @ 9:29 AM