banning death penalty 废除死刑概要1.pptVIP

Banning Death Penalty “A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.” Fyodor Dostoevsky 陀思妥耶夫斯基 Death Penalty:Costly, Not a Deterrent Since 1976, an extra $1 billion has been spent to implement the death penalty Extensive criminological data agree death penalty not a deterrent to violent crime In some cases, it may be an incitement The Death Penalty:Public Opinion 1994: 80% favor 2005: 64% favor 50% when choice of life without parole alternative 80% of Americans feel innocent people have been executed in last 5 years Mahatma Gandhi once said… An Eye For an Eye Makes the Whole World Blind! Thousands of volts of electricity are passed through the person. It takes 10 minutes for the body to cool down enough to be touched. The Electric Chair The Gas Chamber It may take the prisoner several painful minutes to die. Arguments Against the Use of Capital Punishment. People may be wrongly accused and executed. The death penalty does not appear to work, the USA has a higher rate of violent crime than the UK. The cost of keeping someone on death row is far higher than the cost of keeping them as a life prisoner. Some criminals might be seen as martyrs. A civilised state should defend life not kill. Minority groups are far more likely to be given the death sentence in the USA. No matter how evilly someone behaves they always have the possibility of correcting their behaviour. James Belither Buddhism Jesus taught compassion; “If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone…….” John 8: 7-11 Christianity Race and the Death Penalty While blacks make up about 10% of general population, make up 42% of inmates on death row 98% of chief district attorneys in death penalty cases are white White defendants executed for killing blacks: 22 Black defendants executed for killing whites: 223 Those who kill whites 3 times more likely to be executed The probability of the defendant getting the death pen