首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Historically, execution has served as a significant form of punishment for deviance from social norms and criminal behavior. Cap
Historically, execution has served as a significant form of punishment for deviance from social norms and criminal behavior. Cap
admin
2010-06-18
28
问题
Historically, execution has served as a significant form of punishment for deviance from social norms and criminal behavior. Capital punishment is no longer in use in Great Britain, but King Henry VIII executed an estimated 72,000 thieves and vagabonds during his long reign. When the American colonists came from England in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they brought some of, but not all, the English laws concerning punishment for capital crimes.
For centuries, the death penalty was used in North America for murder, alleged witchcraft, and a few other crimes. Little thought was given to its justification; capital punishment was assumed to be morally and religiously justified. The first critical challenge to this practice came in 1821 when a study of the Louisiana criminal code recommended repeal of the death penalty. This suggestion was not adopted in Louisiana, but, ironically, it led to abolition of capital punishment in several South American countries.
In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first American state to end its use of executions. Although certain states followed Pennsylvania’s lead, the history of the death penalty in the United States over the last 100 years has been rather uneven. As some states abolish capital punishment, others reinstate it. Currently, 37 states, the military, and federal statutes provide for execution for selected crimes.
The debate over the death penalty has traditionally focused on its appropriateness as a form of punishment and its value in deterring criminals. Viewed from the functionalist perspective of Emile Durkheim, sanctioning of deviant acts helps to reinforce the standards of proper behavior within a society. In this light, supporters of capital punishment insist that fear of execution will prevent at least some criminals from committing serious offenses. Moreover, in their view, the death penalty is justified even if it does not serve as a deterrent, because such criminals deserve to die for their crimes.
By contrast, opponents of capital punishment have long attacked it as "legalized murder". For example, in the last weeks of his term as governor of New Mexico in 1986, Toney Anaya commuted the death sentences of all five men awaiting execution in the state. Anaya called the death penalty "inhumane, immoral, and anti-God" and added that "my personal beliefs do not allow me to permit the execution of an individual in the name of the state."
Opponents of the death penalty point out that a 1985 report identified 343 Americans wrongly convicted of offenses punishable by death since 1900, 25 of whom were actually executed. For example, in 1979 a black man was sentenced to death for the murder of a 4 year-old white girl. He received a stay only days before his scheduled execution when the victim’s mother implicated another person; the man’s conviction was subsequently overturned. Critics argue that the possibility of error in the criminal justice system in itself makes capital punishment morally offensive. They also insist that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment." Thus far, they have failed to persuade the Supreme Court that their constitutional argument is valid.
In 1976, in the case of Gregg vs. Georgia, the Court held that executions can be appropriate so long as they do not involve needless pain or suffering and are not grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime. This ruling and others were especially significant, since no executions had taken place since 1967. In part, this reflected a lull in the criminal justice system as officials waited to see how the Supreme Court would assess the constitutionality of the death penalty. In the aftermath of the Court’s decisions, one execution took place amidst national publicity in 1977 and another in 1979. Executions became more common in the early 1980s; in 1987, there were 25. Moreover, there were more inmates on "death row" in 1987 than at any other time in American history.
The first American state that ended the practice of death penalty is ______.
选项
A、Pennsylvania
B、New York State
C、New Mexico
D、Arizona
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/4JlO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
LordPercyofNewcastle,Britain’sministerofeducationin1924-29,wasnofanofthefadforhappy-clappy"progressive"educat
A、Thesalesdirector.B、Themanagingdirector.C、Theexhibitiondirector.D、TheAmericandirector.C
Inourlooks-obsessedsociety,manypeoplethinkthatbeingoverweightisanappearanceissue.Butbeingoverweightisactually
Bycomparison,farmers______receivemoregovernmentsubsidiesthanothers.Inadditiontotheeconomicconsiderations,there
WhatwaseducationlikeinProfessorWang’sdays?
Duringthepastcentury,duetoavarietyoffactors,morethan1,000oftheworld’slanguageshavedisappeared,anditispossi
WhichofthefollowingstatementsisINCORRECTaboutDavid’spersonalbackground?
WhowerethenativesofAustraliabeforethearrivaloftheBritishsettlers?
Accordingtothenews,______havebeenkilledinthewar.
Theold-agepaternalismofsouthernCanadiansoverEskimoshasdiedmoreslowlyintheruralvillageswhereEskimoshavebeenmo
随机试题
异养茵
来源于蔷薇科植物,果实呈花瓶状,外有刺状突起,内有小瘦果的药材是
某工业设备安装有限公司承包了一工业锅炉房机电设备安装工程,锅炉为散装。由于设备到货拖延,施工工期非常紧张。项目部总工程师编制的试运转方案中,对于锅炉的水处理系统没有提出具体明确的要求;并且要求为了缩短试运转周期,附属设备和锅炉主体一起进行试运转。
地铁车站采用盖挖半逆作法施工时,为保证施工缝的良好充填,一般设置“V”形施工缝,其倾角以小于()为宜。
不能根据原始凭证直接计人某项工程成本的是()。
在一笔出口业务中,付款方式采用信用证和D/P即期各半,为收汇安全,应在合同中规定()。
已知:某公司2015年销售收入为20000万元,销售净利率为12%,净利润的60%分配给投资者。2015年12月31日的资产负债表(简表)如下:该公司2016年计划销售收入比上年增长30%,为实现这一目标,公司需新增设备一台,需要资金148万元。据历年
A、32B、40C、48D、56C中间数=(左上角数-左下角数-右上角数)×右下角数,因此96÷(60-28-30)=(48)。故本题选C。
A、 B、 C、 D、 C
辩证法同形而上学是两种对立的方法论。二者的根本对立在于是否承认()
最新回复
(
0
)