Death penalty deter killings? Study says evidence unclear. (Phil Sandlin/ Associated…) Does facing the death penalty make would-be killers rethink their actions?
The question has long been at the center of arguments for and against the death penalty, but a committee formed by the National Research Council released a report Wednesday saying that previous studies, despite their claims, have not been able to fully answer the question and therefore should not be used in debates over capital punishment. The United States Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Last week, Connecticut became the 17th state to repeal capital punishment. An Ohio man was executed Wednesday and another man was scheduled to die by lethal injection Friday in Delaware. The Committee of Deterrence and the Death Penalty concluded that studies on the death penalty and its potential effect on homicide rates -- both pro and con -- contain fundamental flaws that essentially make them moot. Fight against death penalty gains momentum in states. Historical Timeline.
Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights. Victims' family members who oppose the death penalty come to that opposition from a variety of experiences and beliefs, but all challenge the common assumption that anyone who has lost a family member to murder is in favor of capital punishment.
All challenge the notion that executions are the way to achieve justice or closure for the family that murder leaves behind. MVFHR’s Gallery of Victims’ Stories aims to put real faces on victim opposition to the death penalty by presenting photos and statements from survivors throughout the United States and around the world, along with photos of the murder victim and links to further information. We invite you to browse by name or by location, and to print out these pages to distribute them to lawmakers, students, members of the clergy, other victims’ family members, as you find it helpful to do so.
We regularly add new pages to the Gallery, so check back often – and let us know if you'd like to have your own photo and statement included. Statistics on Capital Punishment. Content 1.
Death penalty laws2. Numbers of executions3. Trends in capital punishment: numbers of executions, legal abolitionism, and public support4. Death row numbers5. 1. In 2012, Latvia became the 97th country to strike the death penalty from its justice system. (source) This is a somewhat older map showing the different death penalty laws around the world (status in 2008): (source, click image to enlarge) The US is one of the few developed countries still allowing and performing executions. This map shows the legal status of capital punishment in the different states of the U.S. (source, an interactive version of this map is here, where you can also see the method of execution and the date of the last execution for individual states) This map is more up-to-date: (source) ^ back to top 2.
(source) (source) Three quarters of executions worldwide occur in Asia. 95% of Asians live in jurisdictions that carry out capital punishment. (source) Some more recent figures: (source) (source) (source) 3. Cruel and Unusual Punishment legal definition of Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Cruel and Unusual Punishment synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary. Cruel and Unusual Punishment Such punishment as would amount to torture or barbarity, any cruel and degrading punishment not known to the Common Law, or any fine, penalty, confinement, or treatment that is so disproportionate to the offense as to shock the moral sense of the community.
The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing cruel and unusual punishment for federal crimes. The amendment states, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted. " The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. In attempting to define cruel and unusual punishment, federal and state courts have generally analyzed two aspects of punishment: the method and the amount. However, a defendant need not suffer actual physical injury or pain before a punishment will be declared cruel and unusual. FactSheet. Methods of Execution. Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation.