Step 1: Go to: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ This is the website of the Death

Question

Step 1: Go to: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/

This is the website of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), which contains a plethora of information on the death penalty. Highlight the "Issues" tab at the top. You will see a list of issues and topics presented by DPIC.

Step 2: Select one of these and read through all of the information as well as listen or watch included podcasts or videos.

Step 3: Using what was provided and what you learned from your selected issue, prepare an argument against the death penalty, specifically mentioning your issue’s (e.g. arbitrariness or mental illness) facts, figures, court cases, etc. to bolster your case. Next, in another section, explain whether or not you support the death penalty. Do you feel that it is ethical or unethical? Why or why not?

Explanation / Answer

Mental ilness and death penalty is an important issue of discussion. According to Death Penalty Information Center it can be described in different ways. According to American Heritage Dictionary, " Any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional or behavioural functioning and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic and other factors, such as infection or head trauma. Also called emotional illness, mental disease or mental disorder. Mental incompetency is treated differently by legal sysytem. People with severe mental illness are not aware of right and wrong, they are not able to understand their punishment and the reason of it. So law exempt them from execution. According to the Supreme Court , U.S. in 1986, it is unconsitutional to hang an insane. But if his mental competency is restored than the law has the right to execute him. Mentally retarded inmates can not be executed but mentally ill people do not have this exemption which is totally wrong.

American Bar Association on Resolution 22 A and accompying article is a main source on the topic of exempting the severe mentally ill people from the death penalty. It was given on August 8, 2006. One more major source is ACLU: Mental illness and the Death Penalty," It provided background information about a case in which mental illness was an issue. It provides description of Supreme Court cases and current legislative actions.

A poll was conducted regarding the execution of insane and mentally ill people in November 2014, in Texas by Public Policy Research. As a result of the poll it was found that Americans do not support the death penalty for mentally ill people. The poll found out that this feeling is same among both genders, political parties and all geographical areas. 62% Democrates, 59% Republicans and 51% Independents oppose the execution of mentally ill people. Here are some cases of mentally ill people who were hanged to death by court and their death penalty was not forgiven by the law.

1- Robert Moorman was mentally disabled according to his lawyer and executed on February 29, 2012. According to the lawyer the mental capacity of Robert was above the legal threshold for mental impairment.

2- Daniel Bedford was executed on May 17, 2011 in Ohio. His lawyers claim that he was suffering from dementia and not able to understand why he was given this punishment. But the Supreme Court did not stop his execution and give him death penalty.

Many other cases are there in which law should not have been executed the mentally ill people but it did. So on the basis of above discussion it could be said that death penalty for mentally ill people should be stopped in all the states completely.

Here are some reasons to oppose the death penalty-

In some cases, persons are executed and later it was known that they were innocent and did not commit that crime for which they were hanged. This put a question mark on our legal sysytem. What is the answer to be given to his family members? So death penalty does not prove a fair judgement all the time.

In some cases, there is no similarity in the punishment of people who committed the crime of same category. Some are executed while some are not. So this is also a reason not to support the death penalty. Death penalty is an immoral task because guilty also has a right to live and to improve himself. Execution of mentally ill people is wrong and should be banned.

On most of the discussion points, death penalty is unethical because if a person murdered someone and he was punished to be executed, than the same crime would be committed again. Some people do not commit the crimes willingly, sometimes they are forced to do so. There is death penalty as the punishment for criminals, still the people are mudering others, they dont have any fear of it. So laws should be made to spread awareness so that crimes can be deducted and the unethical work like death penalty could be reduced.

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