L a w & C r i m e 1
The History of the Death Penalty
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n the United States, the death penalty is sometimes given to people who are guilty of committing very serious crimes. These crimes could include first-degree murder and treason, or betraying one’s country. Capital punishment was brought to America by early settlers from Europe. In early America, people who were found guilty of murder and rape were routinely executed, either by hanging or by a firing squad. Convicted burglars, thieves, and even counterfeiters often received the death penalty. This was thought to be a deterrent to other criminals.People began to feel that criminals were not evil. Instead, they were victims of poverty, poor education, and lack of opportunity. Society should help criminals, rather than kill them, they thought. Another reason for the change in thinking was economic. Prisons were very expensive. Early American states could not afford to keep many people in prison. Rather than keep them in prison, convicted criminals were executed. But as society became richer during the Industrial Revolution, prisons became more affordable for society. Because of this and other reasons, keeping criminals in prison rather than executing them became a viable option. By the mid-1800s, many states banned the death penalty except in the case of convicted murderers. But those states were mostly the northern states. The southern states kept the death penalty for many crimes. That trend continues in modern America. Even today, most
executions happen in the southern states. The southern states are considered more
conservative than northern states. In the
southern states today, death by injection is the standard form of execution. It is considered the most humane form of the death penalty.
5 rape --- to use violence to force someone to have sex 6 burglar --- a person who enters a place to steal things 7 counterfeiter --- a person who makes fake money
8 deterrent --- something frightening or unpleasant that stops some
bad action
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In the last few years in America, the debate over the death penalty has grown more widespread. A recent argument against the death penalty is that some of the people who are found guilty and sentenced to die are not actually guilty. New methods of verifying evidence, such as DNA testing, have helped free many death-row inmates. Because in many cases, criminals cannot be proven 100 percent guilty, it is not right to sentence them to death,
opponents say. There is a chance that they may be innocent. In fact, the governor of Illinois recently halted all executions in his state. In Illinois, some death-row inmates were shown later to be innocent of the crime for which they were imprisoned. After that, the governor was afraid that some people being executed were wrongly convicted.
Another argument against the death penalty is the high cost of executing a prisoner. Someone sentenced to die has the right to appeal the sentence several times. The state has to defend its case each time before a higher court. One study found that it costs more than $1,000,000 in legal costs for a prisoner to
exhaust all appeals against the death penalty. Despite the often-heated national
debate, the majority of Americans are still in favor of the death penalty.
According to a recent study, approximately 65 percent of Americans still believe that the death penalty is appropriate for crimes such as first-degree murder. In cases of mass murder, the percentage in favor of capital punishment is even higher. More than 80 percent of Americans wanted the death penalty given to Timothy McVeigh, the man who killed hundreds in the Oklahoma City bombing.
Reading Time_______ minutes _______ seconds 555 words
32 death-row --- the part of a prison where people sentenced to death are held 36 halt --- to stop
45 exhaust --- to use completely
48 first-degree murder --- killing on purpose or with a plan 49 in favor of --- for; supporting
R eading Comprehension
A
Mark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.1. ____ The death penalty is still used in the United States today. 2. ____ In the past, people could receive the death penalty for stealing. 3. ____ As the United States became wealthier, the use of the death penalty
increased.
4. ____ Most people said Timothy McVeigh should receive the death penalty.
B
Choose the best answer.1. Which was a reason for the use of the death penalty during the early 1700s?
a. Executions were a kind of entertainment. b. People were very religious.
c. American states were poor.
d. The states could not control the criminals.
2. Which states stopped using the death penalty?
a. Eastern states b. Northern states c. Southern states d. Western states
3. Why did the governor of Illinois stop the execution of prisoners?
a. To give DNA tests to all death-row inmates b. To keep innocent people from dying c. To save money for the state
d. To win support for his re-election
C
For the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.1. Today, why do most executions happen in the southern states?
______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
2. Why is it expensive to sentence a person to death?
______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
S ummary
V ocabulary Extension
Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.
charged defendant witness confessed chamber testimony
1. The police officer arrested the man and __________ him with murder. 2. The __________ told the police officer what she had seen.
3. The man __________ to the murder when the police arrested him. 4. The judge heard the __________ of the arresting officer.
5. The accused man is the __________ in court.
6. The murderer was sentenced to death and so went to the gas __________. Fill in the blanks with the words or phrases from the list. Use each word or phrase only once.
In the past, criminals in America were 1 ________________ put to death for crimes. Executions were usually either by hanging or by a(n) 2 ________________. It was not until after the Industrial Revolution that the prison system grew large enough to hold many 3 ________________ at one time and became an alternative to the death penalty. However, some southern states still 4 ________________ quite a few prisoners. Even though more 5 ________________ methods of execution, such as lethal injection, have been found to execute prisoners, there are other points opponents still debate about the death penalty. For example, the innocence of some prisoners on death row has been 6 ________________ through DNA testing.
routinely firing squad execute
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S upplemental Reading
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entally challenged people have IQs of below seventy. Many mentally challenged people with IQs of fifty-five and above can hold jobs, have children, and do many things that “normal” people do. They even commit murder and other crimes. When mentally challenged people commit crimes and are convicted, is it fair to put them to death, as other criminals are sentenced to death? This is a question that American people and their courts have struggled with for many years. However, in recent years, it seems that the majority of Americans have come closer to agreement on the issue. Many people now think that putting mentally challenged people to death is a “cruel and unusual” punishment.Daryl Atkins had an IQ of fifty-nine. In the late 1990s, Atkins was found guilty of killing a person and was given the death penalty in Virginia. His case was appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. In 2002, the court ruled that Atkins and other mentally challenged persons may not be executed. This decision opposed a 1989 Supreme Court decision that said mentally challenged persons may be executed. Since 1976, approximately thirty-five mentally challenged people have been executed in the United States.
In the 2002 decision, the court said that the nation had come to a consensus against executing the mentally challenged. They said it is unfair to execute someone who cannot fully understand how bad their actions were. It is a violation of the US Constitution’s ban against “cruel and unusual punishment.”