Death Row Meal Requests

Inmates have the opportunity to request a meal the day before their execution is scheduled. This video includes 10 inmates with the explanation of why they are on death row and their meal request.

Http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdxi8d8qRsRyUi2ERYjYb-w. "10 Shocking Last Meal Requests On Death Row." YouTube. YouTube, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

History of Capital Punishment

Executing Adults

Executing Adults

Five Most Recent Executions:
October 14th, 2015, In Texas, Latino Licho Escamilla age 33, Lethal Injection.
October 29th, 2015, In Florida, White Jerry Correll age 59, Lethal Injection.
November 18th, 2015, In Texas, Black Raphael Holiday age 36, Lethal Injection.
November 19th, 2015, In Georgia, White Marcus Johnson age 50,Lethal Injection.
December 9th, 2015, In Georgia, Black Brian Keith Terrell age 47, Lethal Injection.






Reasons why someone would be punished by the death penalty:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-punishable-death-penalty

Lethal Injection Explanation:

NMANewsDirect. "Lethal Injection Explained." YouTube. YouTube, 16 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Cases of Errors in the Conviction and Botched Executions

Cases of Errors in the Conviction and Botched Executions


In 2001, the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Law School analyzed the cases of 86 death row exonerates. They found a number of reasons why innocent people are wrongly convicted in capital cases. The reasons included:

eyewitness error - from confusion or faulty memory.
government misconduct - by both the police and the prosecution
junk science - mishandled evidence or use of unqualified "experts"
snitch testimony - often given in exchange for a reduction in sentence
false confessions - resulting from mental illness or retardation, as well as from police torture
other - hearsay, questionable circumstantial evidence, etc.

Adams, Randall Dale (convicted 1977, exonerated 1989) — Mr. Adams was sentenced to death

for the murder of a police officer in Dallas County, Texas. A purported eyewitness, who in fact

was the actual killer, framed Mr. Adams and received immunity from prosecution in exchange

for his testimony. Mr. Adams was not involved in the crime. The facts came to light after filmmaker

Errol Morris took an interest in the case and produced a now-famous documentary — The

Thin Blue Line — about the case. Mr. Adams and the victim were white. Time lapsed from arrest

to exoneration: 147 months.

Charles, Earl Patrick (convicted 1975, exonerated 1978) — Mr. Charles was sentenced to

death for the murder of a furniture store owner and his son during a robbery in Chatham County,

Georgia. The key evidence against Mr. Charles was eyewitness testimony from a surviving

witness who had failed initially to identify him in a photo spread. The prosecution also presented

an informant who claimed to have heard Mr. Charles confess to the killing. While a motion for a

new trial was pending, a reinvestigation by the prosecution discovered that a detective had

coached both the eyewitness and the informant; the latter eventually admitted that he made up

the story at the detective’s behest. The prosecution joined in the motion for a new trial and, when

it was granted, dropped the charges. Mr. Charles received a $75,000 civil rights settlement for

the detective’s misconduct. Mr. Charles was black, the victims white. Time lapsed from arrest to

exoneration: 43 months.

If you're more interested in reading about more cases this link : http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/causes-wrongful-convictions includes cases, a chart with factors contributing to wrongful convictions and categories of eyewitness identifications in wrongful capital conviction cases.

Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty." Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Mar. 2016

Executing Child Criminals

Executing child criminals

Sixteen states set 18 as the minimum age at the time of commission of a crime for a person to be eligible for the death penalty. Five states have 17 years as the minimum age including FL, GA, NH, NC, TX. Seventeen states set 16 as the minimum age including AL, AZ, AR, DE, ID, KY, LA, MS, MO, NV, OK, PA, SC, SD, UT, VA, WY.




Blue: States with no Death Penalty
Yellow: States that have a Death Penalty

1988: Execution banned where criminal was 15 years of age or younger: In the U.S. Supreme Court case Thompson v. Oklahoma, a boy had been convicted of having actively participating in a brutal murder when he was 15 years of age. The court ruled that capital punishment in the U.S. was unconstitutional if applied to a child who was 15 years of age or younger at the time of the offense
.


1989: Execution OK if criminal was 16 or 17 years of age: In the case of Stanford v. Kentucky, the U.S. Supreme Court, allowed the executions of two males who were children at the time they committed murder. Kevin Stanford was about 17 years, 4 months of age. Heath Wilkins was about 16 years, 6 months of age. The vote was 5 to 4 -- a common result on rulings involving morality and ethics.

"Execution of Juveniles in the U.S. and Other Countries." Execution of Juveniles in the U.S. and Other Countries. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2015

Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment is also known as the death penalty. This is the execution of people who been found guilty of offenses considered to be capital crimes. Supporters of capital punishment believe that some crimes, especially murder, are so serious and so destructive to society that the perpetrators deserve the most severe punishment. Many of these people believe that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime.

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution recognizes the existence of capital punishment and outlines conditions for trying individuals accused of capital crimes. 

This means that before an execution, certain legal procedures—such as formal arrest, charges, and a trial—must be followed.

Cases:

Brown v. Sanders

In 1981, Ronald Sanders and an accomplice broke into the Bakersfield, California home of Dale Boender and his girlfriend, Janice Allen, seeking to rob Boender of his stash of cocaine. Sanders struck the victims on the head with a blunt object, injuring Boender and killing Allen. Sanders was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, robbery, burglary, and attempted robbery. The jury found four factors, called "special circumstances" in California, which made Sanders eligible for the death penalty. The circumstances included committing murder during the course of a robbery, the killing of a witness to a crime, committing murder during the course of a burglary, and committing a murder that was "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel." The jury then considered a list of sentencing factors during the penalty phase, one of which was the circumstances of the crimes Sanders committed. The jury sentenced Sanders to death.
   

"Capital Punishment." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Nov. 2015