The Death Penalty Debate
Ms. Bernhardt, Period 7
World Book Online-Advanced
This is a great place to start any research project. You can link via ed1stop. Once you have logged in using the credentials below, click on the "Research" tab and then on World Book. You will have four choices, choose "Advanced." Then do a search on either "The Death Penalty" or "Capital Punishment." Both will return articles that provide information you can trust.
See your teacher or Mrs. Perkins in the library for login information.
http://www.ed1stop.net
The Death Penalty Information Center
The DPIC is a comprehensive resource of information regarding all aspects of the debate. They do not promote one side
or the other in the debate, although some of their articles may be critical of some aspects of the death penalty based upon their research
Home Page
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/home
Student Resource Center
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/student-resource-center
The Inocence Project
The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization that reviews completed criminal cases to determine if defendants were wrongly accused and convicted of a crime. Many of the Innocence Project's cases are death penalty cases, which tends to bias their opinions against the death penalty. Once a defendant is dead, there is no legal recourse.
Home Page
http://www.innocenceproject.org/
If you search this site for the words "death penalty" you will find an abundance of position papers and articles.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an organization that fights for human rights around the world. It has long held the belief that the death penalty represents a permanent denial of human rights. This link is for their "Issues" tab, and it has a link to
their position statements regarding the death penalty. While they have a strong bias against the death penalty, thei arguments are clearly and concisely written and they are a highly-respected
organization.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
The ACLU is a watchdog organization dedicated to insuring that the Constitutional Rights of citizens are upheld. You will find their position papers under the Key Issues tab, within their Safe Communities, Fair Sentences category.
https://www.aclu.org/
The American Bar Association
The ABA mission is "To serve equally our members, our profession and the public by defending liberty and delivering justice as the national representative of the legal profession."
(http://www.americanbar.org/about_the_aba/aba-mission-goals.html)
As a result, they also have a stake in the death penalty debate. Here is the link to their Death Penalty Representation Project website:
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation.html
The American Death Penalty
This article, printed in the periodical Philosophy Now, gives another perspective on the death penalty. Warning: The mission of Philosophy Now is to make the subject of philosophy interesting to non-philosophers. Their articles are often less serious than those you'll find in the previous resources.
http://philosophynow.org/issues/30/The_American_Death_Penalty
BalancedPolitics.org
This website is included because it gives a clear summary of the arguments for and against abolishing the
death penalty. The rest of the site has not been vetted, and should be used with caution.
http://balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm