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New Mexico has repealed the death penalty, joining 14 other states that do not impose capital punishment.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!

Unmasking capital punishment / Victim's kin questions poin - RESPONCE

While this article lacks any real information or statistics of any sort, I included it in my blog simply to show that opinions change and people don't have to have one opinion and refuse to look at any others. Also, Harada's statement at the end was powerful and made a point that should be recognized: nothing worthwhile comes out of an execution.

Unmasking capital punishment / Victim's kin questions poin (article#6)

This article actually appears to be two articles in one, but I am focusing on the first part which tells the story of a man (Masaharu Harada) whose brother was killed by another man (Toshihiko Hasegawa). While at first Harada is violently for the death penalty to be assigned to Hasegawa, as time goes on they begin to talk and exchange letters: Hasegawa apologizing fervently. By the end of the article Hasegawa has been assigned to capital punishment, but Harada states: "My mind changed as I became aware that nothing worthwhile could come from his execution."

Capital-Punishment Propoganda- RESPONCE

With the author of "Capital Punishment Propaganda" being for the death-penalty, it was very interesting to see how he looked at things. For example, at the bottom of the article he said "however, not everyone supports the death penalty." (meaning he assumes the reader does) which I thought was interesting seeing as all the other articles I have read have said almost the complete opposite thing. It was difficult to form an opinion of this article, seeing as it seemed almost more against the bill the commission had passed out and less against what the bill was on. The author's biggest argument was that the bill did not argue many important issues involving capital punishment. However, it seemed to me that the commission was well informed and made a good point, specifically that there is too much of a risk an innocent person would be convicted. I am intrigued as to whether the bill is going to be passed or not and will post the results as soon as they come out.

Capital-Punishment Propoganda (article#5)

The Governor of Maryland, Martin O'Malley, has tried twice to end capital punishment in Maryland, and is trying once more this year. This time, he has figured out a way to get the results he wants: by appointing a commission and making sure the majority was anti-death-penalty. Therefore, he created the Maryland Commission on Capital Punishment. The commission has just issued to end the death penalty and makes the point: "...there is an unacceptable risk that an innocent person will be executed and that it is being administered in a racially discriminatory way." However, the author of the article is for the death penalty, and argues that the commission in no way offers any alternative, nor does it address the fact that some argue lethal injection is as morally unjust as the electric chair.

Hey Phoebe! There was an article in the Portland Press Herald about a man who was sentenced to death for a crime he did. I didn't read it, but you might want to. It was printed on Friday December 19, 2008.

Thanks, Jeanette! I'll look into that. :] -Phoebe

Executions drop to a 14-year low in 2008- RESPONCE

I was very excited about this article because I am always interested in current events and the economy is one of the most controversial issues facing the world today. This article talks about how the death penalty is becoming less and less popular and suggested that one of the reasons might be the economy.
In California, the death penalty system costs more than 100,000,000 dollars a year! People are beginning to ask whether this is the way we should be spending our money.

Executions drop to a 14-year low in 2008 (article#4)

The death penalty has becoming increasingly unpopular in recent years, dropping to an all-time low of 37 nationwide in 2008. This article reflects upon reasons why and brings up the interesting and controversial point of cost: "A California state commission reported in June that its death penalty system costs more than $100 million a year to administer." And how this relates to the current economy.

Samara's Response

Phoebe, capital punishment is scary!! I think your start so far is great. The articles are very controversial and provoking. It makes me sad that they would convict minors. Isn't that against the law?? I don't know. ... That's not right, no matter what the crime. They should go to a therapy type setting to alter there behaviour so they won't commit crimes. Keep up the good work!!

Alex Hadik- Blog Comment

Phoebe-
You have some great research here however I have a couple pressing comments and questions.
First off, I am confused as to how you are arranging your comments and your notes. I have not been able to clearly differentiate between pure notes and the notes with your comments weaved in. Just stating that. It might help you down the road to have that more clearly defined.
Secondly, you seem to be very vocally voicing your own opinion on this matter. That is great that you feel so strongly about this topic however I find that having such a biased opinion of the research I find can significantly affect how I interpret the information. I know of many good arguments, some of which I personally agree with, that are in support of the death penalty or an option very close to it. I'm not hating, I am just saying that you might be able to better interpret the information and arguments if you do not immediately classify them as something you support or don't. Also, perhaps clarify your reasoning in your notes- Why do you hate it. What about it is bad. What are the alternatives. What are the drawbacks of them? Is prison life better than death, who is to say? Perhaps just keep that in mind.
Other than that, this is excellent research!

Alex G. responce #2

Phoebeee !
This is such a cool topic. I don't know too much much about it, or death penalties, but it makes me really interested to learn about it. I loved reading your responses to the articles, and how you thought it was good to know both sides of the stories. I also loved how each of your articles were different variety.
(:

Phoebe, this is such an interesting topic! I just got back from the HMUN trip where I sat in the Social, Humanitarian and cultural committee, and the two pain topics were Polygamy and Death Penalty. I know a great deal on the Death Penalty. The death penalty is a very large topic of controversy in individual countries as well as in the United Nations as a violation of human rights. And you should take religion into consideration, in the Koran, the death penalty is permitted! So maybe you should weive religion in somewhere.

A good variety of articles. . .

Phoebe - Nice job with the citations!!!!! and - I like the fact that your articles are all different. Look on the Opposing Viewpoints database - I would think that a large number of articles would be available - both pro and con.

An Uneven Case Against the Death Penalty- RESPONCE

I found this article refreshingly strait forward to read, as it did not drag on for a long time repeating ideas and being redundant. In fact, it was completely the opposite, managing to make an entire thesis, middle, and effective end in only about four paragraphs, each consisting of little more than a sentence each.
The three points that the author seemed to want to bring across were these:
1. Capital Punishment is being given up because it does not deter Capital Crimes, but there is no proof that lifelong imprisonment accomplishes anything either.
2. Capital Punishment can drag on and impede upon the well-being of the other members of the convict's family, but who's to say that lifelong imprisonment does the same thing?
3. Racial discrimination.
This was all new ideas to me, so I was pleased when I found that I had at least one more argument against the death penalty, but I also found two arguments FOR the death penalty, which I am actually glad to have. I believe it's important to know both sides of the story.

An Uneven Case Against the Death Penalty (article#3)

In just a few brief paragraphs, the author of this article summarizes some arguments both for and against capital punishment.

Utah Supreme Court says it might be forced to overturn death sentences- RESPONCE

This article, in sharp contrast to my first post, made me very happy. I stated earlier that I was against the entire idea of capital punishment, but until now I (with my limited knowledge of the justice system) had been unable to come up with an equally drastic but not as terrible punishment for such an action. This article not only states one, but talks of a state that might actually follow this law in the future! The punishment Utah's Associate Cheif Justice Wilkins describes is a lifelong sentence in prison with no parole what-so-ever.
I think this is a very good idea because I believe capital punishment is a hanis and morally flawed law and Utah's stated possible law is an excellent alternative.

Utah Supreme Court says it might be forced to overturn death sentences (article#2)

This is a fairly short article that talks of how in the Utah Supreme court, people have begun to feel that the trials are unfair and are reaching false conclusions. The Associate Cheif Justice Michael Wilkins said that "we may be forced to hold that the lack of such counsel is sufficient grounds for outright reversal of a capital [sense?] and remand for the imposition of a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole."

Nigerian Executions- RESPONCE

I was very shocked at this article, seeing as before I was simply against the idea of Capital Punishment, now I am against it and have good, solid facts to support why it is immoral and unjust. While I still have to do some research on what the conditions are for inmates in other parts of the world, the fact that in some parts they must stay on death penalty for many years, even when living in bad conditions and suffering from mental disorders.
Also, the part in the article that pointed out that "more than 40 offenders were sentenced while under the age of 18" disturbed me greatly. The fact that someone not much older than myself could be sentenced to death and killed is a disquieting point that I would be interested to find more on (i.e. what counts as "youth" and what states and/or countries follow the youth restrictions on Capital Punishment)
However, this is not a completely negative article, it talks of one man Aster Van KregtenInternational's Nigeria researcher) who is quoted as saying "It is truly horrifying to think of how many innocent people may have been executed and may still be executed," We can only hope that people like this will continue to have a strong opinion about the subject and takes steps towards making the world a better place.

Nigerian Executions (article#1)

This is a very powerful article dealing with the fact that the criminal justice system in Nigeria is very flawed and unfair, often assigning innocent people to the death penalty. Then, after they are convicted, the way of going about the execution is not reliable and often takes several tries to kill the person.
The article also touches upon the subjects I am interested in: Capital Punishment and how it is applied to youth and the mentally challenged. "Amnesty calls for moratorium on Nigerian executions" says that "More than 720 men and 11 women are on death row in Nigeria and one of them has been under sentence of death for 24 years. More than 40 offenders were sentenced while under the age of 18, against international law..." It also states that "...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."

My topic

After researching three topics and reading all the posts on my blog, I have decided on the topic that most interests me: Capital Punishment. I am confident that this topic reaches all the criteria as it is a very current and ongoing subject. There will be a lot of information on it, and there will always be more trials and more stories that I can read and comment on. There will also be many different opinions from all sorts of different people that I can read.
I am very interested in this topic, and I have a very strong opinion, so it will most likely keep me interested for several months. It would even be fun and informational to try and contact a judge or local authority and see what they think about it. There are a lot of interesting and different approaches to this subject.
Because the topic of Capital Punishment is a very large topic, and it would be very difficult to argue completely against the entire idea, I have decided to simply research the limitations that Capital Punishment should need to follow. In particular, one article I read interested me. It was about if Capital Punishment should be applied to the mentally challenged or youth. I am very passionate about this controversial subject so I am sure I will be able to write an engaging and informational paper.

controversial!

Excellent choice of topic! I think because it is so controversial, there will be lots of people expressing their opinions and therefore lots of information on it. You could look at past trials, current trials, if any laws are being changed, and what people are doing. I'm interested to see what your opinion is! State constitutions (if there is such a thing) or other government papers or state websites would have information on it. It would be interesting to see what states practice it, and what their reasons are behind it- if there are any. It's slightly disturbing, but you could look at the pros and cons of it. Is it an advantage to kill the felons, or is it better to keep them for economic purposes? Actually, it costs money to keep people in jail, so looking into corruption and unfair trials just to get someone off of the budget would be something to look at.

Also, if you are really passionate about the arts, I'm sure there are topics to research. Like, how successful people who major in performing arts become. I was thinking of doing how music affects a student's academic performance before I decided on my topic. That may work for you if you want to pursue it.

Some Thoughts...

While Duck (duct) tape does have many interesting uses, I agree that the topic might not have enough to stick around for several months.
Your "How to get to Broadway" topic does have some interesting potential. I think if you researched many different Broadway actors, you would find many different success stories. There are probably people who could give advice about how to succeed.
Capital Punishment, I would have to agree, is your strongest topic. Since it is very debateable I think you will be able to find information from multiple viewpoints. I think it is okay to limit this to boundaries and limitations, but what would you have this include? Are you going to dicuss whether or not there should be any capital punishment at all? I think this topic will generate a lot of opinions from everyone who reads your blog.

Comments from Everett

I think that the topic of capitol punishment would be a topic that would have many people interested. I think that it is by far the best choice for you to make as far as advancements over time go. You say that you would denounce the death penalty, but I am interested to find out what you would suggest instead of it. Or, what you feel would be a good boundary for capital punishment to follow. Only certain states allow it and I think that it would be interesting to find out why the states that don't allow it, what their reasoning was in denouncing it. Also, why the states that still allow capital punishment have not abolished it.

By the way, the proper term is duct tape. I think that Duck tape is a brand name.

EM

capitol punishment

This is a very interesting subject to research. I think you could find a ton of information about it. Along with how it is used and it's boundaries, I think you might want to compare it to other types of punishment. What is an alternative? Who is being punished in this form, (i.e, races, handicapped, age groups...)? You might even want to consider why it's used and how it effects society. Your topic has a large range of possibilities and interesting viewpoints.

English: Three Topics summary.
Phoebe Arnold

These last couple days I have been researching these topics: Duck tape, the process on how to rise to the level of being in a Broadway play, and Kristin Chenoweth.
However, upon researching these topics I found none would really work for my I-search.

Duck tape simply didn't bring up any results. I typed it in nearly every search engine and not only did it not bring up any interesting information, it didn’t bring up any information at all! I guess that isn’t very surprising, however, since duck tape is not a very controversial issue, so it would not change in the news that much. Also, upon further thought I realized I wasn't interested in this topic enough for it to hold my attention for several months.

The process on how to be in a Broadway play was a silly idea on my part. The process on how to do something would really just be a paper of essentially bullet notes that wouldn’t change at all. I didn’t research this topic since I had just started typing it in the search bar when the realization hit me.

As for my last topic, Kristin Chenoweth, she is a very interesting and talented person who has been in TV, Broadway, and comedy shows. Since I am interested in a career in the performing arts, she would be a good topic for me to research. However, Kristin Chenoweth is not particularly important to the world. While she is wonderful in the entertainment field, the world is not being monumentally changed by her actions. I would like a topic that interests more people than just me.

In conclusion, I have found a new topic that interests me: Capital Punishment. I have a strong opinion on this subject and there is a lot of current controversy and information on it. In particular I found an article that discusses the controversy of whether it is fair to prosecute mentally challenged or youth. Since it would be very difficult for one person to argue against the entire idea of capital punishment, which I would prefer to do, I have decided to narrow my topic to simply the boundaries and limitations that capital punishment should follow.