Life, Liberty, and property

Life, Liberty, and property are natural rights that were first presented by John Locke. They are the very rights that both men and women (today) gain by giving up governmental rights in order to maintain a more stable society.

Thursday, October 16, 2014

What about the death penalty???

What do you think? does the death penalty violate the 14th amendment? Why do you think it does or does not? 



1. Does the death penalty violate the 14th Amendment?
PRO (YES)
CON (NO)
Ivan Eland, MBA, PhD, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty, in his Aug. 18, 2003 article titled "Death to Capital Punishment," posted on the Independent Institute website, wrote:
"Juries mete out the death penalty unfairly. The implementation of capital punishment includes discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and social class. That bias violates the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee that all persons will have equal protection under the law."

Aug. 18, 2003 Ivan Eland, MBA, PhD
In Gregg v. Georgia (decided July 2, 1976),the US Supreme Court, in a decision written by Justice Potter Stewart, held that:
"We now consider specifically whether the sentence of death for the crime of murder is a per se violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. We note first that history and precedent strongly support a negative answer to this question. The imposition of the death penalty for the crime of murder has a long history of acceptance both in the United States and in England. The common law rule imposed a mandatory death sentence on all convicted murderers."
July 2, 1976 Gregg v. Georgia (365 KB)

Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 20, 2014 at 8:40 PM

    Hey Guys,

    I commented but it didn't post. hmmm..Anyway, here it goes again.

    The more and more I learn about the justice system, technology, and delve deeper into the Amendments, the more my thinking cap tightens. In theory, the death penalty does violate the fourteenth amendment. Just like everything else in our government, we make exceptions to accommodate our needs. I am not sure if I am for or against the death penalty. But I do know, if someone hurt my family I would want them dead. Of course that is pure emotion and not logical thinking.

    Enrique a.k.a undecided

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nipper_LewisOctober 21, 2014 at 8:07 AM

    Kimberly Lewis Commenting:
    I am really glad you posted this question on your blog. This is a very hard question for some to answer as it asks you to sit in judgment of someone's fate and as a member of a jury ultimately decide that fate. life is preciouses yes but not so precious that you should not give up yours if you choose to deny someone of theirs. I think ALL death penalty cases should be look at on a CASE to CASE basis, but unless it is self defense or some extraordinary circumstances that put you in a position to take a life, then if you take a life you should have to pay they debt with your own.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nipper_LewisOctober 21, 2014 at 8:09 AM

    Kimberly again:

    That Debt NOT THEY debt sorry

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)