Review my paper?

[Deleted]

I wrote a paper on the death penalty for my Political Science class (pro stance). Can I get reviews from some people?

One of the major issues affecting our country today is capital punishment. Two articles which question the equality and effectiveness of capital punishment are The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty: A Pooled Time-Series Analysis by David Jacobs, a Sociology Professor at Ohio State University, and Jason T. Carmichael, a Ph.D. student at Ohio State University and The States and the Death Penalty by David C. Nice, professor at Washington State University.

In The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty, Jacobs and Carmichael question the validity and “legality” (Jacobs, Carmichael 109) of capital punishment. This article suggests that Capital Punishment is biased because it is more likely to be “legal in jurisdictions with relatively large black or Hispanic populations” (Jacobs, Carmichael 109). Jacobs and Carmichael also believe that areas that have lower economic privileges than others will also have capital punishment enforced in the area in which they live. It is written in this article that “No other contemporary punishment is more severe, yet the literature is almost silent about the social and political influences that affect the legality of this punishment” (Jacobs, Carmichael 109). In this article, the independent variable is capital punishment; the dependent variable is minorities and the hypothesis questions whether capital punishment is biased because it is considered to be prevalent in areas with minorities

The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty also brings up reasons for capital punishment based on issues such as political ideology, economy, and also gives alternatives to capital punishment. As far as political ideology is concerned, it is said in the article that “A legal death penalty may be likely where conservative political ideologies that support harsh punishments are more prevalent” (Jacobs, Carmichael 112). This further goes on to say “Despite the plausibility of this claim, research that assesses the relationship between conservative public ideologies and the stringency of the criminal codes does not seem to exist” (Jacobs, Carmichael 112). Jacobs and Carmichael also say in the article that “The more economically stratified a society becomes, the more it becomes necessary for dominant groups to enforce through coercion the norms of conduct that guarantee their supremacy….Where social power and authority are structured upon class lines,…then punishment will reproduce the forms and figures of class even when its actions appear to transcend class divisions and protect those on the wrong side of the class divide.”

The States and the Death Penalty is David Nice giving reasons why the death penalty should be abolished. Like The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty, The States and the Death Penalty raises issues about the supposed bias of capital punishment towards minorities. Nice says “Conservatives believe that severe penalties are needed to deter crime, an act of individual choice. Liberals tend to believe that crimes are often due in part to forces beyond any individual’s control and offenders can often be rehabilitated” (Nice 1037). Nice says “The net result of the linkage of race and the death penalty is not entirely clear” (Nice 1038). The issue of race is further raised when he brings up the fact that “...states with relatively large black populations will be more receptive to the death penalty. If people are most inclined to support its use on people who are unlike themselves, racial diversity may enhance the appeal of capital punishment. Most importantly, whites may be more supportive of capital punishment if it is often applied to nonwhites” (Nice 1038). Nice also says “A number of studies have found that killers
of whites are more likely to be sentenced to death than are killers of
blacks (Nice 1038).

Nice also brings up the fact that capital punishment could lose its allure, because “Conversely, however, a large black population may reduce the appeal of capital punishment. The low popularity of the death penalty among blacks may undercut its support where blacks are numerous. In addition, to the degree that killers of blacks are unlikely to receive the death penalty, a large black population, which will mean a significant proportion of black murder victims, may weaken the appeal of the death penalty as far as whites are concerned” (Nice 1039). Like The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty, the independent variable is capital punishment; the dependent variable are minorities, and the hypothesis questions whether capital punishment is biased because it is considered to be prevalent in areas with minorities.

Both of these articles used numerous resources in helping to write them. It seems that both Nice and Jacobs and Carmichael went about writing their articles in the same way. They both researched numerous publications and got a little bit of references from each one and also used mathematical formulas to prove many of their points. Jacobs and Carmichael used a technique called panel analysis. Jacobs and Carmichael call panel analysis “A supplemental time-to-event analysis” and both say that it “suggest(s) that minority presence and economic inequality enhance the likelihood of a legal death penalty” (Jacobs, Carmichael 109). Panel analysis is Jacobs and Carmichael’s way of showing that capital punishment is unfairly balanced in places with minorities as well as lower income areas. They both say that “The results suggest that a political approach has explanatory power because threat effects expressed through politics and effects that are directly political invariably account for decisions about the legality of capital punishment” (Jacobs, Carmichael 109)

In David Nice’s research, he compares how the death penalty is distributed based on political ideology. Nice uses a process in his article called regression analysis. Nice uses regression analysis to complement his article on capital punishment by saying “Regression analysis…of the death penalty scale points strongly to the roles of ideology and the problem environment in shaping state responses to capital punishment. States with high-scale scores (that is, a supportive orientation toward the death penalty) tend to have relatively conservative electorates and high rates of murder and non-negligent manslaughter” (Nice 1042).

Both articles agree and give informative reasons as to why capital punishment is biased and more widespread amongst minorities, I am a supporter of capital punishment and must mostly disagree with each article. I agree with the articles to a degree, because
I believe that if capital punishment is being unfairly imposed on minorities and the lower class, then something needs to be done about it. It is also my firm belief that capital punishment needs to be evenly distributed in every area. I believe that anyone who knowingly takes the life of another human being deserves to be executed for their crimes.

I feel that capital punishment, if imposed among the people equally, is beneficial to society for many reasons. For one, it guarantees that that person will never kill anyone again. There have been many instances where prisoners (not necessarily on death row) have killed again while in prison, targeting their fellow inmates, as well as prison personnel. Another reason why I support capital punishment is because if a loved one of mine is murdered, I will be paying to keep them alive through my taxes. In no way, shape, or form do I want to be paying for the murderer of my loved one (or anyone else’s for that matter) to receive three free meals a day, free medical care, and other expenses that would be used to house them. That money I would be paying could go to worthier causes then keeping someone alive who has forfeited their right to live.

In addition, I believe capital punishment is effective because of the value of deterrence that it can present. One group of people I feel can do something about this is the media. The media is one group which has a major effect on the way people think. If more executions were publicized (or even televised in some instances), then I believe that that would pave the way for less murders and deter crime. Potential murderers could look at those people being executed and they would not want to be next in line. If capital punishment gained more exposure from the media, then it could save a lot of lives.

Living in Harlem, New York my whole life, I have been around guns and violence. I have had friends that have been shot and some killed over nothing. Capital punishment is the only kind of retribution for this type of behavior. The way the justice system works, the people arrested for shooting and killing my friends will be out in no time and free to live their lives like nothing even happened within a few years.

Six years ago in Maryland, my Godfather’s 18-year-old son was at a birthday party. Someone with a gun walked in on the party unannounced and wanted to be let in. When nobody wanted to let the person in, he grew frustrated, took his gun, and shot through one of the doors in which the party was being held. On the other side of that door was my Godfather’s son. The bullet came through the door, piercing his head, killing him. He had nothing at all to do with letting the person into or keeping him out of the party. The person who was accused was eventually found, but was not given the death penalty. I vividly remember being at his funeral. There were hundreds of people crying for over four hours due to someone else’s frustration of not being invited to a party. This is a big part of why I support capital punishment. Not only do I believe that the killer should’ve been executed, but had capital punishment been exposed more, the deterrent effect might just have come into play and my Godfather’s son might still be with us today.

While both of the articles get their points across in terms of their views on unequal distribution of capital punishment, they both fail to mention consideration for any murder victim’s family. Again, while I believe that capital punishment needs to be spread throughout this country equally with no prejudice or bias, if someone commits murder, then they should die at the hands of the state. Neither article mentions how the family and friends of the murder victim would feel if a death sentence were to be overturned for the person who killed their loved one.

[Donnie]

I think that you need to link your personal experiences with the claims of the anti-DP researchers and see how well the circumstances match up.

[ginger winkie emo here]

kjw814 said:

I Living in Harlem, New York my whole life, I have been around guns and violence. I have had friends that have been shot and some killed over nothing. Capital punishment is the only kind of retribution for this type of behavior. The way the justice system works, the people arrested for shooting and killing my friends will be out in no time and free to live their lives like nothing even happened within a few years.

and what sweetie?

[vikki]

If you are writing at a university level, get rid of all of the "I have seen" or "I think". academic writing is non-personal. (Unless your tutor has advised you to write in a personal style)

In the quoted paragraph above you could write

"For people living in new york, their experience of crime and punishement may be different from those in different areas. It could seem to the general public that offenders who shoot and kill are given relatively short prison sentances, which would allow them to be released from prison in little time." (of course it should be relatively easy to find an article that supports this viewpoint. )

For the other incidences that you mention, quote them as "anecdotal evidence" Other than that, quite well written. Good luck!

Vikki

[phatkat]

You should put quotes around the titles of the articles; if nothing else, it's a little confusing to read. You also don't need to mention them more than once - use the authors' names instead.

E.g.: Your sentence: Like The Political Sociology of the Death Penalty, The States and the Death Penalty raises issues about the supposed bias of capital punishment towards minorities.

Could be changed to: James and Carmichael, Nice raises issues about the supposed bias of capital punishment towards minorities.


Also, your quote that begins with "Conversely, however" - those first two words can be left out of the quote.


I've been working on a long paper myself and I'm a bit of a grammar nazi. Good luck!