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Deterrence
Methods of Execution
Case Briefs
Miscarriages of Justice
Miscellaneous
100
Who is the economics researcher who published the landmark study stating that 'an additional execution per year...may have resulted, on average, in 7 or 8 fewer murders'?
What is Ehrlich
100
Which method discussed in class (and the reading) is the most commonly used method of execution today?
What is lethal injection
100

What was the issue in the case of Baze and Bowling v. Rees?

Does the 4 drug cocktail for the Kentucky lethal injection protocol violate the 8th amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment?

100

What is the most referenced statistic for the amount of mistakes that lead to truly innocent people being placed on death rows awaiting (or actually facing) executions?

What is 5% (for example, 20 of the 349 DNA exonerations from the Innocence Project were off of Death Rows = ~5%)

100
What are the 3 major qualities of a punishment that are considered in predicting the deterrent effect that punishment will have?
What are certainty, celerity (or swiftness), and severity.
200
Considering all you know about deterrence research studies and the death penalty, is capital punishment an effective deterrent?
What is we don't know - there is research to suggest both deterrent effects, and null (no) effects. (AND, there's some that suggests a brutalizing effect, so it's a big mess that is unclear). We cannot say for sure that it does deter, just as we cannot say for sure that it doesn't.
200
True or False: The court has indirectly said that extended amounts of time awaiting execution on Death Row is an acceptable (non-8th violation) part of the punishment of death.
What is True - the court has refused to hear cases about long stays on death row, therefore has indirectly said they're ok with those lengths of time.
200

In Kansas v. Marsh, the court was determining if a sentence of death was constitutionally appropriate, given aggravating and mitigating circumstances that were determined to be 'in equipoise'. What does that mean, and what did the court ultimately decide?

equipoise means equivalent or equal to each other. So, if the jury finds the aggs and mits to be equal in weight, is it ok for their determination to be a death sentence even though the aggs didn't OUTWEIGH the mits? The court decided that it is ok, the DP can be applied when both sides are considered to be equal.

200

True or False: Borchard's first study examining wrongful convictions focused solely on people who were released from death rows.

What is false - this was the first work on the possibility of miscarriages of justice, and focused on the term broadly. It did discover a few cases that were removed from death rows, but that was not the intent nor focus of the research.

200

Which method of execution has the majority (70%) of the executions completed in the US utilized?

What is hanging.
300
Explain the difference between the 2 types of deterrence we discussed.
What is Specific Deterrence works on the actual offender him/herself - they suffer a punishment that will keep them from committing the same crime again in the future. General Deterrence works on other individuals who see the punishment of an offender to keep them from committing the offense for fear of the same punishment being used on them.
300
Why is the Hippocratic Oath discussed in relation to the death penalty methods?
What is the lethal injection protocol uses surgery procedures, however medical professionals take an oath to save lives, not take them, so they are banned ethically from participating in any form in an execution - they can only pronounce the person dead after it's over.
300
What is the name of the type of rule decided in the Roper v. Simmons case, which held that individuals under 18 at the time of the offense cannot be executed?
What is a bright line rule.
300

What are our 3 different definitions of innocence that can be used (and which is most common)?

What is 1) cases where the government officially admits error, 2) cases that have been officially exonerated because of evidence that the defendant was not involved (Actually innocent - most common), or 3) cases that were dismissed or found not guilty at retrial (legally/factually innocent).

300
Who was the first individual to be exonerated off of death row by DNA evidence?
Who is Kirk Bloodsworth
400
What are the 3 traditionally used types of studies that can test for whether the death penalty is a deterrent or not?
What is 1) comparing murder rates in states with or without the death penalty, 2) comparing murder rates in the same state before and after its imposition of the death penalty, or 3) comparing murder rates just before and just after highly publicized executions.
400
What is the unknown executioner concept?
What is the idea that multiple people are 'carrying out' the execution (through firing squad, lethal gas, lethal injection) therefore no one knows which one is responsible for the action that caused the death of the offender
400
What is the significance of the Sell v. US case brief we discussed?
What is in some instances, it is acceptable to forcibly medicate an individual (even against their will).
400

Explain the difference between Harmless and Prejudicial errors, as determined by the appeals court.

What is both situations involve admitted mistakes or errors that occurred during the original trial, but a harmless error is determined by the appeals court to NOT have influenced the ultimate outcome/decision in the trial (for example, the confession was elicited under duress and should not have been allowed into court, but the jurors would have convicted the guy anyways b/c of other evidence). A prejudicial error means the mistake likely did (according to the appeals court guess) impact the trial outcome and thus justifies redoing the trial or sentencing phase again.

400

How might the method of hanging serve 2 purposes in early (public) executions?

What is 1) the punishment of the actual offender and 2) a warning of what's to come for repeat offenders who had to sit in the gallows with the noose around their neck as part of the punishment for their 2nd offense

500
The counterargument "the contrary experience of those in law enforcement", uses what information to make their case?
What is the studies about police officers who have the closest interactions with murderers and potential murderers, and therefore are in the best position to judge whether the death penalty is deterring crime or not. Remember we said the police chief studies since then have showed this may not be the common belief anymore.
500
According to the FL execution procedures document, what are the 3 drugs used in the lethal injection protocol, in the correct order. You don't need the medical name for the drugs, just what they do to the body.
What is 1) anesthetic, 2) muscle relaxant, 3) stops the heart
500
What is one of the main arguments presented by the majority in Roper v. Simmons about the culpability of the offender?
What is the majority argued the culpability of juvenile offenders was automatically less because of the nature of individuals under 18 - they lack impulse control, are subject to peer influences and their character hasn't fully developed. Therefore, the harshest punishment shouldn't be inflicted because they are less culpable and can still be reformed.
500

What was the name of the case brief discussed multiple times in class which demonstrated the high level of proof needed to consider claims of innocence made on appeal (after being convicted of the crime)?

What is Herrera v. Collins

500

What are the 3 reasons discussed in class that might explain the brutalizing effect?

What is 1) the suicide-murder syndrome, 2) the executioner syndrome, and 3) notoriety.