Professor Canter
English 2367
March 1st, 2017
Capital Punishment: A Social Class Divide between the Destinies of Murderers
Annotated Bibliography
The purpose of this paper is to inform readers about the debate that arises when discussing the United States’ stance on Capital Punishment. There will be topics such as the history of Capital Punishment, views on Capital Punishment from different social classes and individuals, and views regarding the effectiveness Capital Punishment serves as deterrent, justice, and retribution. These views will explain how Capital Punishment is looked at by the American population in today’s society. The death penalty has been a controversial topic ever since its first use in 1662. It remains a controversial …show more content…
“How the Death Penalty Saves Lives.” U.S. News. U.S. News and World Report, L.P., 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
David Mullhausen, an expert on criminal justice programs in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, wrote this article to inform the country about the effectiveness the death penalty has in deterring murder. Using investigations performed by Duke University and other institutions, including his own research, Muhlhausen determined that Capital Punishment effectively deters murder, ultimately saving lives.
This source is important to the over-all thesis of my paper. The article uses credible research of states that adopt laws allowing death penalties and murder rates. Furthermore, it supports the idea that implementing death penalties deters murders and the execution of convicted murderers saves many lives; “Based on data from all 50 states from 1978 to 1997, the Federal Communications Commission reported that each state’s execution deters an average of 14 murders annually” (Mullhausen).
Oliphant, Baxter. "Support for Death Penalty Lowest in More than Four Decades." Pew Research. Pew Research Center, 29 Sept. 2016. Web. 28 Feb. …show more content…
The source reveals that prison doesn’t stop a criminal from engaging in future acts. Also, it shows a case where a family member was willing to wait to see his family’s murderer be served justice but lost the opportunity because of California’s decision. "’One thing most people will never know is the pain experienced when a family member, or in my case, family members are brutally tortured and murdered. I understood the length of a death sentence, I knew it would have been worth it’” (Saunders).
"History of the Death Penalty." Death Penalty Info. Deathpenaltyinfo.org, 2017. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.
This source gives an in-depth review of the death penalty in the United States. The source discusses significant events involving death penalties that led to changes in federal laws. In addition, the source discusses different methods of carrying out death sentences and court cases that play an important factor in the argument on death penalties (“History”).
This source is important to my paper because it provides topics that I discuss in my paper. The source provides many events that have led to the laws we have in place today. I use these events to inform the reader on how the laws on death penalties were