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This life we take: The case against capital punishment
Title
This life we take: The case against capital punishment.
Creator
Thomas, Trevor
Date Issued
1959
Identifier
2683654, CFDT2683654, ucf:5101
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/FCLA/DT/2683654
TIME ON FLORIDA'S DEATH ROW: A THEORY OF "BENIGN NEGLECT"
Title
TIME ON FLORIDA'S DEATH ROW: A THEORY OF "BENIGN NEGLECT".
Creator
Willis, Angela, Bohm, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This thesis attempts to identify and explain what influences the length of time an inmate spends on Florida's death row. A systematic random sample of 33 Florida death row inmates was drawn from the Florida Department of Corrections death row roster and the Florida Commission on Capital Cases inmate roster. Documented for each death row inmate was how long he spent on Florida's death row navigating the various stages and steps in Florida's post-conviction capital punishment...
Show moreThis thesis attempts to identify and explain what influences the length of time an inmate spends on Florida's death row. A systematic random sample of 33 Florida death row inmates was drawn from the Florida Department of Corrections death row roster and the Florida Commission on Capital Cases inmate roster. Documented for each death row inmate was how long he spent on Florida's death row navigating the various stages and steps in Florida's post-conviction capital punishment process. The data show that petitions to the state trial courts and appeals to the Florida Supreme Court take the longest time in Florida's post-conviction capital punishment process. It also shows a considerable amount of "dead time," which refers to any additional time that an inmate spends on death row with no legal actions pending. A theory of "benign neglect" is proposed as the most likely explanation for the excessive delays.
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Date Issued
2008
Identifier
CFE0002328, ucf:47775
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002328
DEATH PENALTY KNOWLEDGE, OPINION, AND REVENGE: A TEST OF THE MARSHALL HYPOTHESES IN A TIME OF FLUX
Title
DEATH PENALTY KNOWLEDGE, OPINION, AND REVENGE: A TEST OF THE MARSHALL HYPOTHESES IN A TIME OF FLUX.
Creator
Lee, Gavin, Bohm, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
This thesis tests the three hypotheses derived from the written opinion of Justice Thurgood Marshall in Furman v Georgia in 1972. Subjects completed questionnaires at the beginning and the end of the fall 2006 semester. Experimental group subjects were enrolled in a death penalty class, while control group subjects were enrolled in another criminal justice class. The death penalty class was the experimental stimulus. Findings provided strong support for the first and third hypotheses, i.e.,...
Show moreThis thesis tests the three hypotheses derived from the written opinion of Justice Thurgood Marshall in Furman v Georgia in 1972. Subjects completed questionnaires at the beginning and the end of the fall 2006 semester. Experimental group subjects were enrolled in a death penalty class, while control group subjects were enrolled in another criminal justice class. The death penalty class was the experimental stimulus. Findings provided strong support for the first and third hypotheses, i.e., subjects were generally lacking in death penalty knowledge before the experimental stimulus, and death penalty proponents who scored "high" on a retribution index did not change their death penalty opinions despite exposure to death penalty knowledge. Marshall's second hypothesis--that death penalty knowledge and death penalty support were inversely related--was not supported by the data. Two serendipitous findings were that death penalty proponents who scored "low" on a retribution index also did not change their death penalty opinions after becoming more informed about the subject, and that death penalty knowledge did not alter subjects' initial retributive positions. Suggestions for future research are provided.
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Date Issued
2007
Identifier
CFE0001754, ucf:47259
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0001754
Estimating the Effects of Condemned Inmates' Last Statements on Public Opinion About the Death Penalty: A Factorial Survey Approach
Title
Estimating the Effects of Condemned Inmates' Last Statements on Public Opinion About the Death Penalty: A Factorial Survey Approach.
Creator
Colyer, Timothy, Wright, James, Corzine, Harold, Jasinski, Jana, Pals, Heili, Bohm, Robert, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
There has been an increase in writings that address the last statements of condemned offenders. Many of these writings suggest that exposure to the humanity sometimes exhibited in these last statements may steer public opinion against the death penalty. This dissertation tests this suggestion by exposing 400 participants to randomly generated vignettes containing various capital crimes, demographic characteristics, and last statements. The survey data are analyzed utilizing multilevel...
Show moreThere has been an increase in writings that address the last statements of condemned offenders. Many of these writings suggest that exposure to the humanity sometimes exhibited in these last statements may steer public opinion against the death penalty. This dissertation tests this suggestion by exposing 400 participants to randomly generated vignettes containing various capital crimes, demographic characteristics, and last statements. The survey data are analyzed utilizing multilevel modeling. Study results include the effects of varying levels of demonstrated humanity in the last statements of condemned offenders on public opinion, and whether specific demographic characteristics appear to influence study participant responses. Findings showed no statistically significant results that indicate any effect on death penalty opinion as a result of reading last statements demonstrating humanity. Condemned inmates who did not provide a statement, or stated they had nothing to say, elicited higher levels of confidence that executing them was the right thing to do. Condemned inmates who claimed innocence in their last statements were associated with the lowest level of respondent confidence that execution was the right thing to do, and a higher level of support for life without parole as an alternative punishment. Recommendations for further research are discussed.
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Date Issued
2012
Identifier
CFE0004338, ucf:49437
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0004338
THE DEATH PENALTY DEBATE:A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE MORAL JUSTIFICATIONS FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Title
THE DEATH PENALTY DEBATE:A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE MORAL JUSTIFICATIONS FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT.
Creator
Mann, Whitley, Coverston, Harry, University of Central Florida
Abstract / Description
ABSTRACT Capital punishment is a forceful moral issue that is frequently overlooked. This is possibly due to the reverence many have toward the rule of law or a passive acceptance of the status quo. In this thesis I will begin with a discussion of context to the topic of the death penalty in order to address potential biases. Then I examine not only the ethical merit of the death penalty but the foundational justifications for a system of criminal justice to show that the special relationship...
Show moreABSTRACT Capital punishment is a forceful moral issue that is frequently overlooked. This is possibly due to the reverence many have toward the rule of law or a passive acceptance of the status quo. In this thesis I will begin with a discussion of context to the topic of the death penalty in order to address potential biases. Then I examine not only the ethical merit of the death penalty but the foundational justifications for a system of criminal justice to show that the special relationship between the state and its citizens does not lend itself to or allow for the instantiation of the death penalty. I look first to several theories of punishment selecting the most viable theory in order to make the most plausible case in favor of the death penalty. From there I establish that there is some intuitive merit to the notion that the vicious deserve unhappiness and see how far that intuition might extend. In this section I examine the merits and demerits of Kantian retributivism in order to address the many intricate ethical and political issues involved in the death penalty debate. I've chosen the Kantian ethical framework because of the nuance with which many of the problems of retribution are solved. Kant insets the enlightenment principles into his moral framework and provides reasoned explanations for there insistence, as such his work provides a background from which I will work through details and resolve contradictions. I will then make an argument for the moral personhood of the state and sketch the special relationship it has to its citizens. Finally I will offer a system that incorporates the ideas developed in the previous sections and gives a practical answer to the death penalty debate. It is my ultimate argument that there is no absolute ban on the death penalty, possibly even some intuitive merit to the scheme, but ultimately many moral limitations on its implementation.
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Date Issued
2015
Identifier
CFH0004742, ucf:45342
Format
Document (PDF)
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFH0004742