Project List Home WebCt Soc641 Home back to group projects list Sociology 641: Sociology of Law forward to discussion threads Capital Punishment Page(s) prepared in Spring 2001 by: Allison Siebold, Leo Brodhead, Brooke Schultz, Joe Gravunder, Becca Wendle, Luke Runnoe Introduction and History CONS Despite the pros of capital punishment, along with it accompanies the downfalls of capital punishment. Not only are their moral issues against the "eye for an eye" mentality, but there are also flaws in the legal system that prevent equal justices from being served. Some of the flaws entail racial disparities, possibilities of innocence, the costs, and the failure of deterrence, clemency, and cases of botched executions. Below are examples or statistics of these flaws in the legal system. Racial Disparities : 89% of the defendants selected for capital punishment have been either African American or Mexican American. Race continues to play an unacceptable part in the application of capital punishment in America today. · Innocence : There is pressure for the prosecution to seek the death penalty. Many of times those on trial facing the death penalty are unable to afford adequate counsel and thus suffer the consequences of their lawyer's inability. Also, often times do to official misconduct in collecting evidence; significant evidence may be deemed unusable because of police mistakes. | |
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