Reasons Why the Death Penalty Needs to Reviewed Often

As criminal justice professionals, we took an oath to protect and to serve. In order to do this, we must educate ourselves on the issues that most affect society and make proactive measures to ensure that every person that enters into the criminal justice system is treated fairly, and their sentence is justified. Through history the death penalty has been a major topic of debate that deserves to be examined frequently for many reasons.

The United States of America death penalty statute was originally introduced through European settlers in Jamestown Virginia in 1608 when Captain George Kendall of the Jamestown was executed after being found guilty of being a spy for Spain. Shortly after this, the Virginia governor adopted the idea of putting offenders to death for their crimes. Other colonies (jurisdictions to us) would punish their own citizens and they would choose the punishment for the crime (Death Penalty Information Center.

While quite a few people agreed that people should pay for their crimes, people who oppose the death penalty could not understand why people who committed petty crimes such as stealing grapes, were also put to death. The people who oppose the death penalty believed that it was unjust and unconstitutional which began the great debate on the death penalty.

The first known person to oppose the death penalty was Thomas Jefferson who believed that the only crimes that a person should be put to death for was treason or murder. Thomas Jefferson tried to have the death penalty bill in Virginia modified but the bill was defeated.

Dr. Benjamin Rush and Benjamin Franklin also believed that the death penalty was a harsh punishment and with Attorney General William Bradford help, Pennsylvania became the first state to determine different "degrees of murder based on culpability" and in 1794, Pennsylvania reserved the death penalty for first degree murders.

Not only is the punishment fitting the crime a concern, the method of execution became a concern in the early 1900's. The first method that was adopted by most states at the time was the electric chair that was built in New York. In 1924, cyanide gas was introduced as a "more humane" way to execute criminals. Shortly after the use of cyanide, the gas chamber was built and many states upgraded

In the 1960's the interpretations of the amendments would be questioned. For example, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments allow the death penalty but that the Eight Amendment was misread because the death penalty is cruel and unusual and actually violates the Eight Amendment protections. Through this movement the Supreme Courts would begin to attempt to clarify the meanings and interpretations of the Amendments.

In 1972, as the Eight Amendment debate continued, on grounds that the jury having sentencing discretion was unjust and the Supreme Court agreed and suspended the death penalty until the process was investigated and decided upon. During this time, people in the system worked together to come up with procedures and guidelines to help judges during cases as preventative measures of tampering.

Another reform included initiating bifurcated trials which gives the accused separate trials; one trial for determining guilt and another for determining sentencing. In addition, provisions were made to include that every person who receives the death penalty be given an automatic appellate review to ensure that all procedures were followed and is used as a proactive measure by making sure that the government is putting the correct person to death.

After the Supreme Court was satisfied with the reforms, states were allowed to include them with their death penalty laws and society was temporarily pacified until the early 1980's when Texas would attempt to appease an earlier argument over "cruel and unusual" punishment by introducing the lethal injection. They used this method on Charles Brooks in 1982, and other states would again follow suit.

In more recent years, there have been several differing opinions and demands for reform based on a variety of categories such as possible deaths of innocent people, mentality of offender and the appropriate age to put a person to death. Execution is definitely not a fail safe sentence. Over 115 people in 25 states have been released from death row since 1973 after being exonerated based on DNA evidence and other scientific evidence that proved their innocence.

The mental capacity of an offender is also a concern within society and it is believed that these people are not in control of them and could not and can not make good conscious decisions coupled with the mentality of a child. In 1986, the Supreme Court banned the execution of mentally ill or retarded inmates (DPIC, 2007).

The most recent debate in the United States today is concerned with "the method and timing" of lethal injection. While the names change, the concerns remain the same and basically all boil down to the protection of Americans Constitutional Rights.

It is my prediction that the death penalty will continue to be a highly debated topic among society and through these debates amendments will be made to fit the times of the society. However, law enforcement and the courts must work together now to ensure that all constitutional rights are protected. Lazy detective work and over zealous prosecution can cause a variety of other problems, not to mention convictions of innocent people. As heads of our departments we need to make sure that proper procedure is met in every case.

America is well on its way to solving some of the issues of the death penalty. As an educated society, people expect solid, visual evidence that show them what makes the sentence work or not work. This aspect is accomplished through studies and interviewing people who have been sentenced to death or those who have been exonerated of the death penalty. Educating ourselves through studies will help us change the sentence to conform to the demands of society, as it is an ever evolving issue.

In addition to ensuring fair and equal treatment through the process, and appellate reviews upon receiving the death penalty, establishment of programs need to be implemented. Having separate entities involved would be a wonderful addition to the criminal justice process. Programs such as the Innocence Project have proven to be invaluable tools to aide in the investigation of possible innocently convicted criminals who have exhausted all other leads in proving their innocence.

Programs like these help law enforcement to catch things that they may have missed. It should be noted that working in the criminal justice field is not an ego contest and everyone should work together in these cases that can progress to the death of a person. The death penalty is the ultimate punishment and society demands, and society deserves to do everything within its power to investigate, no matter what the cost. After all, there is a human life at stake.