Posted: February 14th, 2023

Literature Review and their findings on Death Penalty

Literature Review and their findings on Death Penalty
Topic:
Capital punishment/Death Penalty perspectives
Using the 10 sources I provided, please write a literature review research paper. I provided pdf of instructions/tips, example essay, and the 10 annotated sources

Literature Review and their findings on Death Penalty
Different Research Methods and their Findings
Capital punishment/Death Penalty perspectives
The capital punishments/death penalty topic has been in public domain receiving equal measures of support and criticism but with research from a wide range of literate will effectively reveal facts, opinion and changes in the interest of finding common ground. Qualitative and quantitative research can be established to evaluate known and researched facts about the death penalty.
What is already known about your research topic(s)/issue(s)?
Qualitative Research
The qualitative research on evaluates the opinion and facts on the ground, such as those established under the constitution. The debate on capital punishment has elicited different reactions, thus prompting increased research to evaluated and determine the future in administering death penalties. According to Bessler (2020), death punishment is considered to be unusual and in contravention of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. constitutions. The Eight Amendments prohibits the government from inflicting cruel and unusual punishments to citizens that are found in violation of different laws. The American constitution has been consistently developed to define and distinguish between the usual and unusual punishments. Death penalty falls on the extreme unusual type; thus, it is arbitrary, especially when it is selectively applied. The attempt to protect the citizens from cruel and unusual punishments characterized by torture and infliction of punishment that contradicts societal values and norms. In this regard, the law upholds the observation of the Fourteenth Amendment that oversees the adherence to due process and equal protection of the law, ensuring that death sentences have significantly reduced. The due process and equal protection under the law eliminate arbitrariness, errors, discriminations and torture in punishing criminals. Therefore, the article concluded that the death penalty is illegal as it violates the Eighth Amendment, which strictly prohibits cruel and unusual punishments.
Public opinion and politics of the death penalty in the United States indicate the existence and the future of capital punishment in the criminal justice system. The United States has consistently applied capital punishments based on two fundamental reasons (Gross, 2020). In this case, the United States has not been in a position to abolish the death penalty as other nations have done because its criminal justice system is fragmented in different sections based on territories thus making it impossible for the Congress abolish its. Moreover, crime in America remains an electoral issue at state and local levels meaning that a lot of politics revolve around it, making it impossible to effectively eliminate it. Public opinion has a significant influence on the policy related to capital punishment. The consistent use of the death penalty to punish criminals has resulted in a decline in crime rates; thus, politicians in support of death benefit relatively get voted in office. For instance, in the governorship race between George Bush and Michael Dukakis, crimes was a significant issue of the campaign. In this case, George Bush won over Dukakis by accusing him of having a soft approach to crimes.
Quantitative Research
The quantitative research has been done to evaluate the statistics on the death penalties across the United States. The current indicators and trends indicate that death penalty punishment is consistently losing it allure and the criminal justice system opting for alternative modes of punishments for the violation of the law. There have been consistent efforts and activism to eliminate death penalties, and the move has been gaining positive results (Coleman, 2020). The Supreme Court reinstated the application of the death sentence in the U.S. in 1976. However, the role of the death penalty in the American criminal justice system has consistently diminished. The trend in death penalties indicates that it has significantly reduced over the past two decades, where in 1998, 295 death penalties were implemented while 39 people were sentenced to the death penalty in 2017. Most importantly, of the 39 persons sentenced to death penalty only were from eight states. In 2017, 150 innocent people that had been sentenced to death were exonerated. The decline in the number of death sentences stated to decline since 1999. Upon the imposition of the death penalty in 1976, 137 people were sentenced to death in 1977. Between 1989 and 1999 286 people were sentenced to death to death. After 1991 the number of people sentenced to death declined steadily, thus indicating an end to death sentences. Therefore, the decline of death sentence indicated the public and criminal justice system to eliminate death sentences, executions.
Research conducted in different locations
An internet-based study using social media on the death abolishment in Nebraska.
The research uses multilevel Model of Meme Diffusion (M3D). The M3D approach integrates geography and computer-mediated interaction technology to evaluate and make a prediction on public opinion on the death penalty. The electorate and the legislatures have different opinions in the reinstatement of the death penalty. The disagreements between the legislature and the citizens elicit competitive environment of public attention. The research found that the unsuccessful abolition of the death penalty in Nebraska was dependent on highly centralized actors such as state and local government policy, new media, external geographical factors (demographics, and geospatial factors) (Xinyue, 2018). The survey to evaluate the Nebraska public opinion indicated that 57% were in favour of the death penalty, 21% were against the death penalty, and 22% had opinions not related to the death penalty. The findings indicated that the death penalty would be reinstated through popular vote. During the election, 61.2% of people voted in favour of reinstating the death penalty. This statistic shows that the social media survey was consistent with the election results. Therefore, the results indicated that external factors such as external geotechnical factors (technological penetration) and centralized actors are vital in shaping the attitude and perception of citizens regarding public opinions such as the death penalty.
Research conducted from different populations
Death penalty to the African American or the black people
Racial injustice has been experienced across the United States regarding death penalties that have heavily affected black people. Racial disparities have existed in the history of America, and the same has been employed in the application of capital punishments. The black population explicitly suffered racial discrimination in the application of capital statutes whose application is founded on the racial status of the perpetrators and the victims (Carol and Jordan, 2015). During the Civil War period, the African Americans suffered lynching where the south had legal lynching since the legal protections for the blacks were minimum. The question of race always comes up in the legal proceedings with an element of capital punishment, but the Supreme Court has consistently avoided the race issue in the foundational constitutional cases. The centrality of the aspect of the race to litigants constitutional strategy and history of capital punishment across the United States have seen a high number of black people suffer death penalty as compared to persons from other races. Therefore, the U.S. crimi8nal justice system selectively uses the death penalty against the black people leading to an increased number of people suffering death sentences.
High social class populations
Social class or class levels are great determinants regarding the support and favour of the death penalty. People occupying high social and economic classes in the society and those that forecast economic inability have high support and regard to punitive criminal justice policies as compared to other members of the society (Lehmann and Pickett, 2017). This fact indicates that only a section of the society has the support of the application of death sentences to criminals in the criminal justice system. The increase in societal, economic insecurity translates to proportional support. The people occupying high societal and economic classes are posed with crime risks and threats, and thus they prefer punitive measures to be adopted in combating crime to ensure there is a deterrent effect thus upholding their safety and security.
What is not known about your research topic(s)/issues(s)? That is, what are the “gaps in the literature” on this topic?
Gaps in Literature
There are different gaps in the in literature review regarding the operation of capital punishments in the criminal justice system. The present gaps inconsistencies regarding the operation and application of capital punish in the legal system. In this case, there is a gap existing on the fact that the use of the death penalty has resulted in declining crime rates, but the public opinion in support of the death penalty has consistently declined. Since 1991 the death penalty has been accredited for the crime rates and a consequent reduction of persons sentenced to death. Initially, as of 1994 the public support for the death penalty was at 76%, while at 2015 the public support in favour of the death penalty was at 57%. Later as of 2017, the public support in favour of death was death penalty was at 36% (Carol and Jordan, 2015). The statistics indicate that there is a consistent downtrend in public support of the death penalty. Therefore, there is a gap and unclear information on why the death penalty that has resulted in a decline in the crime rate would experience a decline in public support.
There is the gap on the additional, internal and external attitudes that results in the efficacy of the death penalty in the decline of crime. The established attitudes leading to the efficacy of the death penalty in the reduction of crimes includes the deterrence, retributive and utilitarian attitudes. However, some additional factors and attitudes contribute to the success in the operation of the death penalty (Miske, Horne and Schweitzer, 2019). The researches have heavily concentrated on utilitarian and retributive motives or even used a few dichotomous items to evaluate the death penalty attitudes. However, research indicates that people’s perception and attitudes are complex, and they depend on circumstances. Therefore, there is a need to establish all factors and attitudes amounting the successful operation of capital punishment in the reduction of crime.
Missing populations
The literature has not addressed the plight of Native Americans regarding the death penalty. The future research needs to establish the position and opinion of the native Americans and the impact the aspect have on their social lives. In this regard, the aspect of discrimination and equality before the law needs to be established concerning Native Americans. Additionally, the research needs to evaluate the opinion of the Native Americans in relation to abolition or continuous operation of capital punishments in the criminal justice system. The incorporation of the Native Americans in the study ensures that decisions are made in consideration of all the parties involved.
Why is it important to study this/these topic(s)/issue(s)?
There is a wide range of advantages in the study in studying the issues and topics around the death penalty in the society. In this case, the study on death penalty establishes the progress and achievements that have been gained from the operation of the law. In this regard, one can compare the past and operation of the law to determine the progress. For instance, Kendall`s execution experience and facts surrounding the case can be evaluated to determine the results of the case if the case was being handled in the present day (Warden and Lennard, 2018). The case of George Kendal had different uncertainties concerning him being guilty or not.
The study of death penalty enables the different sections within the society, such as the decision-makers, the government and the public to gather public opinion on such legal and social matters. The literature review established qualitative and quantitative research that indicates the actual position of a matter in the public domain. According to Garrett, Jakubow and Desai (2017), the crime rates have constantly decreased with the application of capital punishment that has greater deterrence impact. Additionally, the number of people sentenced to death has reduced due to fear of the death penalty, thus proving that existence is in the interest of common good.

Conclusion
The literature review on the death penalty has provided a wide range of information that will ensure that the legal aspect will be modelled and shaped to serve the greater need of the society. Laws and rules in the society need to exist in the interest of common good, and thus they need to be evaluated from time to time to ascertain that laws meet their goals and objective. In this case, the reinstatement of capital punishment in the U.S. led to a significant decline in crime. However, public opining in favour of death penalty has reduced. The death penalty is considered to be a cruel and unusual mode of punishment that violates the eighth Amendment. Therefore, facts and issues surrounding death penalty need to ensure that alternative mode of punishment with successful results is adopted in favour of death penalty to ensure that it serves in the interest of common good and there is no violation of any law or Amendments in its application.

References
Bessler, J. D. (2017). The Concept of Unusual Punishments in Anglo-American Law: The Death Penalty as Arbitrary, Discriminatory, and Cruel and Unusual. Nw. JL & Soc. Pol’y, 13, 307. Retrieved from https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/njlsp/vol13/iss4/2/
Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2015). The American death penalty and the (in) visibility of race. The University of Chicago Law Review, 243-294. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/43234696
Coleman, J. E. (2017). One Way or Another the Death Penalty Will Be Abolished, but Only after the Public No Longer Has Confidence in Its Use. Duke J. Const. L. & Pub. Pol’y, 13, 15. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1142&context=djclpp
Garrett, B. L., Jakubow, A., & Desai, A. (2017). The American death penalty decline. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), 107(4), 561-642. Retrieved from scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7612&context=jclc
Gross, S. R. (2018). The Death Penalty, Public Opinion, and Politics in the United States. Saint Louis University Law Journal, 62(4), 3. Retrieved from https://www.slu.edu/law/law-journal/pdfs/issues-archive/v62-no4/samuel_gross_article
Lehmann, P. S., & Pickett, J. T. (2017). Experience versus expectation: Economic insecurity, the Great Recession, and support for the death penalty. Justice Quarterly, 34(5), 873-902. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1226939
Miske, O., Schweitzer, N., & Horne, Z. (2019). What information shapes and shifts people’s attitudes about capital punishment?. Retrieved from https://osf.io/ek4fh/
Phillips, S., & Lapuck, J. (2015). Social geometry and the success of moral ideas: The case of capital punishment. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 43(3), 366-381. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756061615000531
Warden, R., & Lennard, D. (2017). Death in America Under Color of Law: Our Long, Inglorious Experience with Capital Punishment. Nw. JL & Soc. Pol’y, 13, 194. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/nwjlsopo13§ion=12
Ye, X., Sharag-Eldin, A., Spitzberg, B., & Wu, L. (2018). Analyzing public opinions on death penalty abolishment. Chinese Sociological Dialogue, 3(1), 53-75. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2397200918761665