Capital Punishment Essays (1715 words) - Penology, Prison, Death Row

Capital Punishment From the beginning of time, crime has been evident in human existence, and from the first crime there has always been a punishment. "And it came to pass, when they were in a field, that Cain rose up against his brother, Able, and slew him" (Genesis 4:8). This for many people was seen as the first crime. This crime did not go unpunished. Cain was then ostracized from his colony and sent to wonder as a vagabond and a fugitive for his crime (Genesis 4:14). He was also branded with the mark of a murderer. Therefore, the presence of crime in human life is inevitable. Defined in Webster's Dictionary, crime is, an act of violation against society and its laws. Punishment is the consequence of the crime. Crimes like fraud, burglary, assault, etc., are usually punished by prison terms. Murder, manslaughter, and homicide maybe punished by prison terms or death. Ways to be executed Electrocution-the three legged oak chair was constructed in 1923 by inmates and is still used today. (ironic isn't it?) The electrocution cycle is two minutes or shorter in duration. Voltage and amperage levels peak on three occasions. Maximum current is 2000 volts and 14 amps. The executioner is an anonymous, private citizen who is paid $150 per execution. The position of executioner was advertised in several Florida newspapers in 1978. Lethal Injection-execution by lethal injection involves the continuous intravenous injection of a lethal quantity of a short-acting barbiturate in combination with a chemical paralytic agent. A number of doctors have pointed out that drugs may not work effectively on diabetics or former drug users, whose veins may be hard to reach. In some cases minor surgery may be required to cut in to a deeper vein, according to medical testimony. More states use this form of execution than all US states. Gas Chamber-prisoner is restrained in a hermetically sealed steel chamber below which is a pan. Upon a signal, the executioner opens a valve, flowing hydrochloric acid into the pan. On a second signal, about 8 ounces of potassium cyanide crystals or tablets are dropped mechanically into the acid, producing hydrocyanic gas, which destroys the ability of blood hemoglobin to perform. Unconsciousness occurs within a few seconds if the prisoner takes a deep breath, and longer if he or she holds their breath. After pronouncement of death, the chamber is evacuated through carbon and neutralizing filters. Gas-masked crews decontaminate the body with a bleach solution and outgassed prior to release. An unwary undertaker could be killed if this is not done. States using this method: Arizona, California, Maryland, Mississippi and North Carolina. Hanging-prisoner is weighing prior to execution. The "drop" is based on the prisoner's weight, to deliver 1260 foot-pounds of force to the neck. Essentially, the prisoner's weight in pounds is divided into 1260 to arrive at a drop in feet. This is to assure almost instant death, a minimum of bruising, and neither strangulation nor beheading. Properly done, death is by dislocation of the third or fourth cervical vertebrae. The familiar noose coil is placed behind the prisoner's left ear, so as to snap the neck upon dropping. States using this method: Delaware, Montana and Washington. Firing Squad-there is reportedly no protocol for the procedure which according to information involves a five man team, one of who will use a blank bullet so that none of them knows who was the real executioner. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty two prisoners have been executed by this method. Gary Gilmore in 1977 and John Taylor in 1996. There are only two states who use this method. They include Utah and Idaho. Who's in Federal Prison? statistics found in 1991 5% of prisoners were women 65% of prisoners belonged to racial or ethnic minorities 68% of prisoners were under age 35 96% of prison inmates were US citizens 59% of prison inmates has high school diplomas or its equivalent less than half of the inmates were sentenced for a violent crime (assault, murder, rape), a fourth were sentenced for a property crime (burglary, vandalism), about a fifth were sentenced for a drug crime (self explanatory) Who's in State Prison? statistics found in 1996 10% of prisoners were women (statistics show that prisoners were sexually or physically abused before admission) 63% of prisoners belonged to racial or ethnic minorities 24% of prisoners were between the ages of 35 and 44 (therefore 54% of inmates were under the age of 35) about 8% of inmates were not US citizens 54% of inmates have a high