Methods of Execution
Which method discussed in the reading is the most commonly used method of execution today?
What is lethal injection
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
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%)
Given the entirety of costs associated with the 5 steps in the process, which type of case tends to be more expensive: LWOP or DP?
What is DP
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.
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.
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.
How is incapacitation different from deterrence?
What is incapacitation is a special form of deterrence where not only is the motivation to commit crimes removed (like with deterrence), but any and all opportunity to commit the re-offense is removed as well (unique from deterrence).
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.
Explain the difference between the 2 types of deterrence 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.
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).
What are the 2 most cited reasons DP supporters give to justify incapacitation through the use of the DP?
What are chances for escapes and granting parole.
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
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.
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.
What stage in the DP process do most scholars argue is the best place to remove some inefficiencies and save costs in trying DP cases?
What is the post trial/conviction stage with all the levels of reviews and appeals that occur. Tough to balance opposing concepts of protections for the defendant and repetitiveness of costs.
What are the 3 most commonly used drugs 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
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.
What was the name of the case brief 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
List the 6 factors the Texas study identified as best predictors of likelihood of future offending. And which is the MOST influential.
What is 3 offense related: robbery/burglary murder, multiple victims, previously attempted murder/assault, and 3 offender related: gang membership, prior prison time, and the most influential characteristic is AGE