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Discussion Questions

  1. Should the death penalty be legal in the United States? Why or why not?
  2. If the death penalty is legal, which forms of execution should be legal? Explain your answer.
  3. If the death penalty is illegal, what (if any) forms of punishment should replace capital punishment? Explain your answer.

Take Action

  1. Ask yourself “whether we deserve to kill” via the Equal Justice Initiative.
  2. Explore the information in the Execution Database provided by the Death Penalty Information Center.
  3. Consider former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen’s argument that the death penalty is “straightforward” legally.
  4. Consider how you felt about the issue before reading this article. After reading the pros and cons on this topic, has your thinking changed? If so, how? List two to three ways. If your thoughts have not changed, list two to three ways your better understanding of the other side of the issue now helps you better argue your position.
  5. Push for the position and policies you support by writing U.S. senators and representatives.

Sources

  1. Roger Hood, “Capital Punishment” (Aug 29, 2023), britannica.com
  2. Amnesty International, “Death Sentences and Executions 2022” (May 2023), amnesty.org
  3. Jonathan Allen, “U.S. to Carry Out 13th and Final Execution Under Trump Administration” (January 15, 2021), reuters.com
  4. Barbara Campbell, “U.S. Executes Dustin Higgs in 13th and Final Execution Under Trump Administration” (January 16, 2021), npr.org
  5. Death Penalty Information Center, “Execution Database” (accessed January 18, 2021), deathpenaltyinfo.org
  6. Aris Folley, “Federal Government Carries Out 13th and Final Execution Under Trump” (January 16, 2021), thehill.com
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  8. Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Talion” (February 22, 2011), britannica.com
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  13. Robert Blecker, “If Not the Parkland Shooter, Who Is the Death Penalty For?” (October 27, 2022), nytimes.com
  14. George Brauchler, “Coloradans Should Have the Final Say on the Death Penalty (and I’d Hope They Keep It)” (March 1, 2019), denverpost.com
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  40. Robbie Brown, “Arkansas Upends Death Penalty” (June 22, 2012), nytimes.com
  41. Jonathan J. Cooper, “John Kitzhaber, Oregon Governor, Imposes Moratorium on Death Penalty for Rest of His Term” (November 22, 2011), huffpost.com
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  44. Iowans Against the Death Penalty, “Iowa” (accessed July 20, 2012), iadp.org
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  48. Wilson Ring, “Vt. Prosecutors May Seek Death Penalty in Abduction” (July 6, 2008), boston.com
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  51. U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Publications and Products: Capital Punishment” (accessed July 18, 2012), bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
  52. William Yardley, “Oregon Governor Says He Will Block Executions” (November 22, 2011), nytimes.com
  53. Joe Sutton, “Maryland Governor Signs Death Penalty Repeal” (May 2, 2013), cnn.com
  54. Julie Bosman, “Nebraska Abolishes the Death Penalty” (May 27, 2015), nytimes.com
  55. “Pennsylvania Governor Halts Death Penalty While ‘Error Prone’ System Reviewed” (February 14, 2015), cnn.com
  56. “Connecticut’s Top Court Bans Death Penalty in State” (August 13, 2015), reuters.com
  57. Whitney Ray, “Attorney General Bondi’s Statement on Today’s U.S. Supreme Court Ruling” (January 12, 2016), myfloridalegal.com
  58. Eyder Peralta, “Delaware Supreme Court Finds State’s Death Penalty Law Is Unconstitutional” (August 2, 2016), npr.org
  59. “With Death Penalty Back, Nebraska Looks Ahead to Executions” nytimes.com, (November 9, 2016)
  60. Jessica Masulli Reyes, “Supreme Court: Executions off for Those on Death Row” (December 15, 2016), delawareonline.com
  61. Rachel La Corte, “Washington Justices Toss Death Penalty as Arbitrary, Unfair” (October 11, 2018), theolympian
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  65. “Gov. Gavin Newsom to Block California Death Row Executions, Close San Quentin Execution Chamber” (March 12, 2019 ), latimes.com
  66. “Grant Death Penalty a Reprieve” (December 21, 2018), denverpost.com
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  68. Bill Estep, “Could Kentucky Resume Executing Inmates? New Death-Penalty Rules Proposed” (February 14, 2018), kentucky.com
  69. “Order Barring Louisiana Executions Is Extended by 1 Year” (July 16, 2018), apnews.com
  70. “Louisiana Seeks 1-Year Extension in Halt to Executions” (July 12, 2018), nola.com
  71. Debra Goldschmidt, “Oklahoma Commission Recommends Extending Death Penalty Moratorium” (April 25, 2017), cnn.com
  72. Johnathan Baker, “In Oklahoma, Death Penalty Moratorium Will Continue Through End of 2017” (August 23, 2017), hppr.org
  73. Kelsey Gibbs, “Death Sentences Continue in Oklahoma Despite Execution Moratorium” (October 16, 2017), kfor.com
  74. Jonathan J. Cooper, “Brown to Preserve Death Penalty Ban” (February 20, 2015), mailtribune.com
  75. Zack Budryk, “New Hampshire Lawmakers Override Governor Veto to Abolish Death Penalty” (May 30, 2019), thehill.com
  76. Jon Kamp, “New Hampshire Governor Vetoes Death-Penalty Repeal Bill” (May 3, 2019), wsj.com
  77. Aris Folley, “Death Penalty Abolished in Colorado,” (March 23, 2020), thehill.com
  78. Whitney Evans, “Virginia Governor Signs Law Abolishing the Death Penalty, a 1st in the South” (March 24, 2021), npr.org
  79. Lauren Dake and Conrad Wilson, “Outgoing Oregon Governor Commutes Death Row Sentences, Orders Execution Chamber Dismantled” (December13, 2022), opb.org
  80. American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU), “ACLU-PA Statement on Governor Shapiro Continuing the Moratorium on Executions” (February 16, 2023), aclupa.org
  81. Lisa Baumann, “Washington State Officially Abolishes Death Penalty” (April 20, 2023), apnews.com
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  83. Tracy L. Snell, “Capital Punishment, 2019—Statistical Tables” (June 2021), bjs.gov
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  89. R.L. Cartwright, “February 13, 1906: Minnesota’s Last Legal Execution” (Feb. 12, 201), minnpost.com
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  94. Death Penalty Information Center, “New Hampshire: Famous Capital Cases” (accessed August 26, 2021), deathpenaltyinfo.org
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  96. Death Penalty Information Center, “Rhode Island: Famous Cases” (accessed August 26, 2021), deathpenaltyinfo.org
  97. Death Penalty Information Center, “States With No Recent Executions” (May 6, 2021), deathpenaltyinfo.org
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  100. John Lippman, “Vermont Historical Society Stores Windsor State Prison’s Electric Chair” (August 14, 2017), vnews.com
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  109. Aishvarya Kavi, “The Full List of Biden’s Death Row Commutations” (December 23, 2024), nytimes.com
  110. Associated Press, “Alabama Carries Out Nation’s 3rd Nitrogen Gas Execution” (November 22, 2024), npr.org
  111. Sam Cabral, “Alabama Carries Out Second Nitrogen Gas Execution in US,” (September 26, 2024), bbc.com
  112. Kim Chandler, “Alabama Puts Man Convicted of Killing 3 to Death in the Country’s Second Nitrogen Gas Execution” (September 26, 2024), apnews.com
  113. Associated Press, “Man Set to Be Put to Death in Indiana’s First Execution in 15 Years” (December 18, 2024), npr.org
  114. Casey Smith, “Death Row Inmate Joseph Corcoran Executed for Quadruple Murder” (December 18, 2024), indianacapitalchronicle.com
  115. Casey Smith, “With Indiana’s Next Execution Just 11 Weeks Away, Clemency Request Is Next Move” (September 30, 2024), indianacapitalchronicle.com
  116. Erik Ortiz, “Two Death Row Inmates Reject Biden’s Commutation of Their Life Sentences” (January 6, 2025), nbcnews.com
  117. Death Penalty Information Center, “In Wake of President Biden’s Federal Commutations, North Carolina Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 Death-Sentenced Prisoners, the Largest Grant of Capital Clemency in State History” (January 6, 2025), deathpenaltyinfo.org
  118. Associated Press, “Outgoing North Carolina Governor Commutes 15 Death Row Sentences” (December 31, 2024), npr.org
  119. Jeffrey M. Jones, Drop in Death Penalty Support Led by Younger Generations” (November 14, 2024), news.gallup.com
  120. Death Penalty Information Center, “Federal Execution-Drug Supplier Says It Will No Longer Produce Pentobarbital for Executions” (September 25, 2024), deathpenaltyinfo.org
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  122. Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Grants New Trial to Death Row Inmate in Oklahoma” (February 25, 2025), nytimes.com
  123. White House, “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety” (January 20, 2025), whitehouse.gov
  124. Daniel Griffin, “DeWine Issues Death Penalty Reprieves” (February 13, 2025), bc4i.com
  125. Ivana Hrynkiw, “Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Commutes Death Sentence of Robin ‘Rocky’ Myers” (February 28, 2025), al.com
  126. Kyle Pfannenstiel, “Idaho Will Be Only State with Firing Squad as Main Execution Method, After Governor Signs Bill” (March 12, 2025), idahocapitalsun.com
  127. Ryan Young, et al., “South Carolina Inmate Executed by Firing Squad for First Time in U.S. Since 2010” (March 7, 2025), cnn.com
  128. Robert Dunham, “DP3 Analysis: U.S. Death Row Experiences Largest Population Decline in 20 Years, Highest Percentage Decline in Half-Century” (January 28, 2025), dppolicy.substack.com
  129. Noah Berg, “DP3 Analysis: U.S. Death Row Experiences Largest Population Decline in 20 Years, Highest Percentage Decline in Half-Century” (November 14, 2024), charlotteobserver.com
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  134. Jacey Fortin, “U.S. Firing Squad Executions Are Rare, but Their History Is Long” (March 7, 2025), nytimes.com
  135. Amy Howe, “Justices Allow Louisiana to Execute Buddhist over Religious Freedom Claim” (March 18, 2025), scotusblog.com
  136. Rick Rojas and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, “Louisiana Resumes Capital Punishment With First Nitrogen Execution” (March 18, 2025), nytimes.com
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  138. Ren Brabenec, “Tennessee’s Death Penalty Is Back” (March 3, 2025), tennesseelookout.com
  139. Hayley Bedard, “Nine Tennessee Death Row Prisoners Challenge State’s One-Drug Lethal Injection Protocol, Citing ​’High Risk of Torturous Death’” (March 18, 2025), deathpenaltyinfo.org
  140. Javier Soto and Brittney Barba, “History of Pauses on Executions in Arizona Since 2014” (March 19, 2025), abc15.com
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  144. Ohio House of Representatives, “ Stewart Introduces Legislation Providing Alternate Means for Capital Punishment” (January 30, 2025), ohiohouse.gov
  145. Pam Bondi, “Reviving the Federal Death Penalty and Lifting the Moratorium on Federal Executions” (February 5, 2025), justice.gov
  146. Gregg Abbot, “Governor Abbott Delivers 2025 State of the State Address” (February 2, 2025), gov.texas.gov
  147. Cameron Kiszla, “Los Angeles County DA Ends Moratorium on Death Penalty” (March 25, 2025), dtla.com
  148. Aishvarya Kavi, “The Full List of Biden’s Death Row Commutations” (December 23, 2024), nytimes.com
  149. Glenn Thrush, “Prosecutors to Seek Death Penalty for Mangione, Bondi Says” (April 1, 2025), nytimes.com
  150. Eduardo Medina, “South Carolina Executes Second Inmate by Firing Squad” (April 11, 2025), nytimes.com