Proposal Research on Capital Punishment

The study's subject is the reprieve of prisoners from the death penalty. The report reflects on how imposing the death penalty on convicted criminals violates the same civil rights that the constitution seeks to secure. Thus, the article suggests a thesis proving that convicted prisoners awaiting the death penalty should be given a reprieve.The intended destruction of an individual's life by law enforcement instruments as a function of the seriousness of the individual's offense is referred to as capital punishment. It is estimated that about 13000 people have been killed by the United States government since the colonial period. However, the public has always been divided with regard whether the penalty should continue.Overview of the issueCapital punishment should be abolished and convicted felons who are sentenced to be executed should be granted reprieve. this is because the law has accorded every individual with the right to live which is the most fundamental right that humans possess. going against the provision by legally allowing the execution of some does not only break the most sacred law provided by nature, but also makes the government guilty of double standards.Literature reviewAccording to Amnesty International, capital punishment does not reduce occurrence of brutal crime but rather encourages it (Amnesty International 28). There are currently 104 countries globally who have abolished the act (Schabas 34). Capital crimes have been misused in some countries to target and execute specific individuals by corrupt regimes (Beckett and Sasson 85). The most common methods of performing the punishment are electrocution, beheading, and lethal injection, hanging and facing a firing squad (Dieter 789).Importance of TopicThe topic is crucial since it sheds light on the violation of the most sacred principle of nature by the very same systems that we expect to uphold the principle. The topic calls for discussion since it raises the question of the integrity of our governments and constitutions since they reflect who we are as a people. It is moreover important since it is a call to action for individuals to decide what values they wanted reflected in their lawPotential AudienceThe proposed report seeks to target the general public and law-makers since people in the increasingly democratic world have the power to stand up against this vice through activism and advocacy. However, due to the sensitive nature of the topic and the statistics following it, children are excluded from the target audience.Counter-argumentsThere are several arguments in opposition to the proposed thesis. For example, some people assert that criminals engage in capital crimes in free will and therefore, setting up death penalties can reduce crime rates by discouraging criminal behavior. However, some researchers have rebutted the argument claiming that crime is a generally risky activity and thereby criminals are not afraid of dying.ProblemsThere are however several problems that may arise during the research for the proposed thesis. Prime among them is the difficulty in finding sources that will provide objective rationales for the annulment of the capital punishment since most previous research conducted on the issue consists of subjective emotionally-charged arguments. The other challenge lies in the fact that acquisition of primary data will be inhibited since access prisoners on death row for interviews is made nigh impossible by the government.Works CitedAmnesty International. Death sentences and executions in 2016. London: Amnesty International, 2017.This report provides facts and figures regarding the number of people who were reportedly executed in the entire world in 2016 and arranges them in an descending order with respect to nationality. The source of the information is credible since the organization has been fighting injustice on international levels since 1961 in conjunction with governments. The report is relevant to the research since it provides statistics that show prevalence of the problem.Beckett, Katherine and Theodore Sasson. The politics of injustice: misusing capital punishment for political gains. Sage Publications, 2003.The above book exposes how oppressive governments all over the world have used capital punishment as a scapegoat for political assassinations and the specific targeting of certain elements of individuals for execution. The source’s credibility lies in the fact that Mrs. Katherine Beckett teaches law at the University of Washington and is therefore an authority on international law. The book is relevant to this research since it shows how ineffective executions are, even in the hands of governments.Dieter, Richard. "Methods of execution and their effect on the use of the death penalty in the United States." Fordham Urban Legal Journal (2008): 789.The above journal discusses the different methods that governments have used t in the past to implement capital punishment. it also gives a commentary on the physical effectiveness of the method and an estimated amount of suffering that each method causes in its victim. Richard Dieter is a credible authority on the issues the article discusses since he directs the Death Penalty Information Center in the US. The article is relevant to the proposed research since it presents the many inhumane ways that governments end the lives of citizensSchabas, William. The abolition of the death penalty in international law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.The above book presents information on how governments all over the world have complied to of gone against the international directive on death penalties. The book further discusses how countries have reacted to the abolition. Mr. Scabas is world renowned for contributions in academia to international law thereby making him a credible source. This book relates to the proposed thesis in the sense that it provides information that shows a positive trend in the abolition of this vice.