Paradigm shift

• perception of Death Penalty in US (Colonial executions to prison system to morality/forensic analysis)

The Death Penalty: An American History

• *Scholarly journal
• sequencing the shift from executions to death penalty
• executions commonly used in colonial times
• introduction of prison (19th century) made punishments more tailored to crimes
  • prison began to be viewed by many as worse than death
• executions peaked in 1930s
• question of constitutionality (Furman and Gregg cases)
  • Eight amendment

Individuals that were executed while likely innocent

• Ruben Cantu: Texas, convicted 1981, executed 1993
  • *17 years old
  • Eye witness now denies being shot by him and only testified that because he felt pressured (Cantu was involved in injuring a police officer)
  • co-defendent has now said that Cantu wasn’t with him
• Brian Terrell: Georgia, convicted 1995, executed 2015
  • mouthed “Didn’t do it.” while being injected
  • physical evidence didn’t point to him
    • footprints were too small
    • of 13 fingerprints found and none matched his
    • tried three times (mistrial, overturned by Georgia Supreme Court)
    • witness later admitted to lying to save himself (avoid death penalty)
    • other witness told police Terrell was not the man she had seen at scene, but it was testified she said he was

Shift in views surrounding Death Penalty

• shift in policy across states in different regions of the country
• analysis of how error plays in
  • began to incite change in 1960s and 1970s

 

Essays vs. Ted Talks

Looking at my paper versus my Ted Talk I’m thinking about the environment in which my audience is residing. I think the Ted Talk should have a more specific and captivating focus in order to maintain the audience’s attention, while also being able to draw conclusions within a short period of time.

Resources

Death Penalty Information Center. “Executed But Possibly Innocent.” Death Penalty Information Center, Death Penalty Information Center, 2022, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/innocence/executed-but-possibly-innocent.

Ferrall, Bard R. “The Death Penalty: An American History.” Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, vol. 93, no. 1, 2002, pp. 299-300. ProQuest, https://ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals%2Fdeath-penalty-american-history%2Fdocview%2F218399186%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D13158.

SARAT, AUSTIN, et al. “THE RHETORIC OF ABOLITION: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST AMERICA’S DEATH PENALTY, 1900–2010.” The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), vol. 107, no. 4, 2017, pp. 757–80. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/48572978. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.