outline

Oral Arguement:
Thesis Statement- No one deserves to die.
Point 1: -Who decides who gets life and who gets death?
Point 2: -Capital Punishment is expensive.
-A California state commission reported in June that its death penalty system costs more than $100 million a year to administer
Point 3: -Conditions of death row harming to mental health of both families of inmates and inmates themselves
-"...inmates spent an average of 10-15 years on death row often in deplorable condition, and that many of them were suffering from mental disorders."
Point 4: -There is an unacceptable risk that an innocent person will be executed and that it is being administered in a racially discriminatory way.
-Tell the story of Matthew Poncelet and the state giving him not enough money to hire a good lawyer. (Two men at the scene of the crime: one gets life and one gets death)
-People's minds change - tell story of Masaharu Harada and Toshihiko Hasegawa.
Point 5: -There is no way to justly execute a person.
-Explain the flaws of hanging and electric chair, then how lethal injection works and why it is truly not that much better.
Point 6: -There are outerlying circumstances
-Ephedra
-Trauma
-Scarring childhoods
-Mental conditions
Ending Point: -Nothing worthwhile will come out of an execution.
Visual:
Explain general story of "Dead Man Walking" then:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH8AhmT5Sqk
^movie
http://www.dallasnews.com/img/photo/09-02/fox17.jpg
http://www.helsinki.fi/~tuschano/cp/wyoming.gif
http://www.dialoginternational.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/16/capital_punishment.jpg
http://www.adsneeze.com/media/2007/10/capital-punishment-1o.jpg
http://patdollard.com/wp-content/uploads/image.jpg
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A3938/39382/300_39382.jpg
http://ndn3.newsweek.com/media/86/Death-Penalty-Peri-Lithwick-horizontal.jpg
http://filipspagnoli.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/hangingpa_468x4811.jpg
http://cubus-adsl.dk/elteknik/billedopslag/elmuseet_elektrisk_stol.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/38/112938863_1968fd4331.jpg
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/img/04-07/0415edideathmain.jpg
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/haymarket/execution.jpg
http://dianedew.com/images/elec-chair.jpg
http://www.deathrow-artwork-thornton.com/prefillable-syringes.jpg
http://templars.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/m197400560386.jpg
http://images-cdn01.associatedcontent.com/image/A2892/28928/300_28928.jpg
http://research.uvu.edu/lavange/rope.jpg
http://www.deathrowspeaks.info/photogallery/li003.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/lethal-injection-execution-chamber-raleigh.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/lethal-injection-map.gif
^slideshow (from ceiling? or just behind me when i talk - need to talk to Alex Hadik)
Interactive:
Tape cell on floor and make ppl sit/lay down/stand in it.

Field Experience / Interview

The other day I called corporate law lawyer Mike Frink, who obviously has many contacts in the field of law. I was hoping to get in contact with a judge or lawyer that I could interview, as I mentioned I had hopes of doing in previous posts. While he did say he knew a few lawyers he could contact that dealt with people charged with capital punishment, it would be difficult since Maine does not have the death penalty; it would take a long time to contact them and arrange a time for the interview. Instead, said Mike Frink, he could put me in contact with a collage professor of law that would know a lot about the process of the trial and eventual execution of an inmate on death row.
I have not heard back.

N.M. repeals death penalty - RESPONCE

Once again, the fact that there is an unacceptable risk of killing an innocent person comes up in an article I have found. This article was very good news, because it shows that the trend of repealing the death sentence is spreading, and more and more states are converting to the idea of no capital punishment.

N.M. repeals death penalty (article#11)

New Mexico has repealed the death penalty, joining 14 other states that do not impose capital punishment. Gov. Bill Richardson, who signed the repeal on Wednesday, was once a supporter of capital punishment. However, after visiting the cells that the inmates are housed in, he was swayed into believing that a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole is a just punishment. (This is what the bill makes the most severe punishment). "the potential for . . . execution of an innocent person stands as anathema to our very sensibilities as human beings." says Richardson. The repeal goes into effect July 1.

Life sentence puts rehabili - RESPONCE

I was very excited about this article, mostly because in my "Final Focus" blog I talked about how it would be very interesting to interview a judge on how they came to the decision and how they lived with the knowledge they took away a life. I also thought this was interesting because it brought up the point that with a life of imprisonment, there is always a chance that the inmates could get out on parole. In the article, Judge Chikara Miura says he finds this "unacceptable". I agree with him on this point, and also deeply respected him. As I said in my summary, Miura always assumed he would have no problem with assigning the death sentence when the need arose. When he was confronted with an actual case, however, "When Miura finally came to the decision, he ordered the accused to stand up in front of him. Miura looked him in the eye. And Shuddered." Miura eventually settled upon life imprisonment, and feels he did the right thing both morally and suited to the crime.

Life sentence puts rehabili (article#10)

"This is the fifth installment of the third part of a series of articles focusing on capital punishment. Part III looks at the steps judges took in reaching their ultimate decisions."
Specifically, it tells about a judge named Chikara Miura (of the Kofu District Court) who, having been a judge for smaller cases until recently, always assumed he would have no problem handing the death penalty to someone when the need arose. However, once he was confronted with a case that required either the death sentence or a life imprisonment, he chose to give the man a second chance at life.

Final Focus; further research needed

The writing out of my thought process and summary of my bl0g showed me a few key holes in my logic. One of which was the simple fact that my articles lack statistics. While statistics are admittedly not as interesting or fun to read, they are very important when attempting an argument. Most all of my articles deal with the moral and compassionate side to the story; i.e. Killing Is Wrong. But, however one might hope, moral obligations are not the first priority on every one's mind. It would be extremely useful and informational to find some cold, hard facts. A few of the top statistical articles I would like to find are:
-Which different states or countries' individual policies for the death sentence are.
-Their personal reasons on not wanting to follow the more liberal governments that have decided to cast aside capital punishment.
and
-What their alternatives are.
I will hopefully find this information in my next few articles, and it will strengthen my argument further and provide me with even more information to both sides of the story.
For my field experience/interview, I would love to interview a judge on how they make that decision, whether they themselves support the death sentence, and any other information that they can present to me. I am not sure if this is aloud or if I could find a judge willing to be interviewed on such a touchy subject, but I would like to try.
Other than those two points, I have enough information on the other side of the story, which is the side that says no one deserves to die. While I myself am much more interested in stories of men and women who are fighting for no death penalty simply because it is wrong, or stories of people who have, not forgiven, but accepted the life of another and realized, in Masaharu Harada's words, "Nothing worthwhile could come out of his execution.

Dead Man Walking - RESPONCE

While this entire movie was very emotional and powerful, there was one particular part that struck me. This was that, even though there were two men at the scene of the crime, and each said the other did it, only one got the death penalty. Why? "Bad luck." Matthew came from a very poor family, and was unable to hire a good lawyer. All he had to work on was the money that the state gave him, and this was nearly nothing. If Matthew had had the money, he would have been able to hire a good lawyer, a team of investigators, psychiatrists, and whatever it would take to win his case. As it were, his lawyer was useless: only raising a total of one objection throughout the entire proceedings.
Another thing was was very sad and something I did not know, was that, during the time where the family of the person about to be executed can visit with him, they are not aloud to touch him. The mother of Matthew, when saying goodbye to him for the last time, went to give him a hug and was actually physically stopped by guards. She had to bid farewell to her oldest son from a distance, not even able to come close enough to hold his hand or brush his cheek with her fingertips.
Part of the movie talked of the public and how people react to the thought of how morally wrong the killing of another person is. One particular quote stood out to me:
"It's easy to kill a monster... it's hard to kill a human being."

Dead Man Walking (article#9)

This movie follows the story of a nun that befriends a man on death row and begins a desperate attempt to appeal to the supreme court and get him another chance at life. This man, Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) had been on death row for six years under the charge of the rape and murder of a high school girl named Hope, and the murder of her boyfriend, Walter. What Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Serandon) finds is both disturbing and revealing about the capital punishment system.

Death Penalty in the States - RESPONCE

This was not so much an "article" persay as it was just an interesting and helpful statistic to have. As you can see, only 30% of all the states have found some sort of substitute to the death penalty, whereas 70% DO practice it. As my next few articles, I think it would be very interesting to figure out what the alternatives that the different states have found and what the reasoning of the non-converted states have presented as to why they have kept capital punishment as their law system.

Death Penalty in the States (article#8)

States with no death penalty:
Alaska , Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnestoa, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

States that have death penalty:
Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Flordia, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Northern Marianas Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wyoming.

Katrina's third Response

Hey phoebe, your blog has a great start with some shocking information. When I was reading your blog I noticed that you added in some of the personal effects of this punishment as well as an artricle on a man who changed his accusation after getting to know the murderer. This is an interesting view on the topic that you might remember was explored in the book In Cold Blood that we read with Mrs. Morris.

used for weight control and for boosting sports performance and energy, is also linked to a risk for heart attack and stroke. - RESPONCE

Ahhh this article was scary-- it was really more on this new drug "ephedra" that is used in diet medicine, but I wanted to include it in my blog because it shows yet ANOTHER factor that comes into play when dealing with capital punishment: temporary insanity due to drug or other substance over dose. I am basically collecting as much information on the different reasons to relieve someone of capital punishment as possible, and this adds to the list. On a slightly different note, perhaps ephedra should be outlawed? It seems to me that that is common sense here; anything that can cause that much damage should not be allowed on market. I was wondering, do the same laws apply to people who are Under the Influence? Aka, can being drunk be classified as temporarily insane? It would be interesting to find out.

DEATH PENALTY: DA guided by report of diet drug: Man charged with murdering police officer in '03 gets life without parole... (article#7)

A man weighing in at more than 300 pounds in Atlanta, Georgia is not going to be sentenced to the death penalty because of a diet drug he is taking containing the chemical ephedra. Ephedra is known to sometimes "aggravated existing psychosis when taken in significant doses." Ephedra is used to control weight and boost sports performance and energy and is linked to a risk for heart attack and stroke. Why anyone would take it with the risk of insanity, heart attack, stroke, and psychotic murder is beyond me, but the point is that he was let off because of "temporary insanity", which was one of the aspects I was looking at for reasons not to apply the death sentence to every situation.

Jackson's 3rd response

Phoebe; your topic is very intriguing! It seems like you are really interested in learning about capital punishment from lots of different standpoints, which is good. All of your citations and notes and everything are well organized and well written. This might be kind of out there for your topic, but I can suggest looking at different philosopher's views on capital punishment, like I know that Ghandi talked frequently about it; and maybe how "an eye for an eye" is portrayed in the Bible. I don't know, but its really good so far.

Graading Thoughts: Chaunceys Thoughts

Phoebe, I like your blog. I think that you should compare the cost of keeping a criminal alive to what it costs for Capital Punishment.
I think Michael Moore did a movie on capital punishment. But that's all I can think of.
For your interview, you should look up a senator or something and see what there opinion is.

Hayden Response to Phoebe

Hey Phoebe.  Your info and stuff is pretty awesome and your citations seemed to be in order.  It's all looking great . . . . yeeeaaaah . . . that's all I can say . . . . You might be able to inter view someone who did that stuff at a jail.  OH!  You should read The Green Mile, also!