Annotated Bibliography

Danner Pacheco
University of Texas at El Paso

Anckar, C. (2014). Why countries choose the death penalty. Brown Journal of World
Affairs, 21(1), 1-25.

In this journal, the author Carsten Anckar, professor of political science at bo

Akademi University in Finland, talks about the reasons some countries still choose
to use the death penalty. He explains that in spite of the hostile environment that
exists towards countries that use the death penalty, some of them still actively use it.
He argues that the power a nation has is directly related to its ability to resist outside
pressure to abolish the death penalty. According to Acnkar, there are several factors
that affect a countrys decision to uphold the death penalty. Factors such as the
power they have, location, religion, and ethnic fragmentation influence the use of
the death penalty.
This journal was written by a scholar and was peer reviewed, therefore, it has strong
credibility. The author keeps a neutral tone throughout the journal and is not biased.
He focuses on informing the reader of the reasoning of some countries behind
keeping the death penalty as an option, not if its use is right or wrong. It provides a
neutral perspective.
This source can be used to try to explain why countries use the death penalty despite
the worldwide trend towards abolishing it.

Blecker, R. (2013, August 22). Opinion: With Death Penalty, Let Punishment Fit the Crime.
CNN. Retrieved March 25, 2015, from
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/22/opinion/blecker-death-penalty/

In this article the author states that the death penalty should be used on the worst of
the worst (Blecker, 2013). With the recent shortage of the chemicals used by
correctional facilities to execute prisoners, prisons have been forced to experiment
with potentially painful chemicals. Opponents of the death penalty reject this
alternative method, as it could make the executed person experience immense pain
before dying and that could be considered torture. The author agrees that this
method is ineffective. Instead, he says that the state should use a firing squad to
execute prisoners. In the authors words, The time has come to make punishment
more nearly fit the crime (Blecker, 2013).
The author of this article is not only a strong supporter of the death penalty, but also
a supporter of an alternative method of execution. This article was published in a
reputable website by a well know supporter of the death penalty, giving it
credibility.
This article will serve to create a balanced opinion on the issue of the death penalty.

Casey, L. (2011, January 12). Death Penalty Deters Crime. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved
from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-12/opinion/chi110112casey_briefs_1_death-penalty-ultimate-punishment-heinous-crimes

For author Larry Casey, the exoneration of twenty death row inmates in the last
three decades is proof that the criminal justice system works as intended. According
to Casey, In our modern-day criminal justice system, no innocent person has been
executed. Albeit, in any system, there are going to be situations where witnesses

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misidentify subjects and subjects are found guilty of heinous crimes (2011).
Thanks to the technology in DNA testing that we currently have, it is highly
unlikely that an innocent person will be executed in todays criminal justice system.
Moreover, Casey states that the death penalty does work as a deterrent of homicidal
crimes when used in a timely fashion, not decades later (Casey, 2011).
In contrast to the majority of sources, the author of this newspaper article is a
supporter of the death penalty. This source is of great value, because there are not
many articles that take this stance.
With this article I can provide a different point of view that will serve as an
argument to support the death penalty.

Fischer, M. (2011, October 3). The Appeal of Death Row. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/11/the-appeal-of-deathrow/308662/

Death row inmates in California have much better accommodations than those in
high security prisons serving life without parole. That is why a guilty inmate asked
to be sentenced to death instead of serving for life. In this magazine article, Mary A.
Fischer, the author, describes how ineffective and costly the system to execute
prisoners in the state of California is. She goes on to mention that the average time
it takes for the state to execute a prisoner is 20 years from the day of the sentence.
Furthermore, the cost of operation of Californias death row amounts to $144
million every year. It is estimated that if the average of 20 years stays the same, by
2030 the state will have spent $9 billion to execute 23 inmates (Fischer, 2011). This

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motivated senator Loni Hancock to try to introduce a bill to replace death sentences
with life without parole sentences.
This article gives financial reasoning behind the argument against the death penalty.
It is not biased, as it only presents factual information and statistics. It avoids moral
reasons and explains that the death penalty is not financially viable.
This article can be used to present and example of the cost of the death penalty and
how the system is in need of reform.

Friedman, L. (Ed.). (2011). The Death Penalty (1st ed., pp. 11-38). Farmington Hills,
Michigan: Greenhaven Press.

The first chapter of this book covers the topic of the legality of the death penalty. In
this chapter, people from both sides of the argument provide their opinion on the
death penalty and if it should be legal, as well as reasons for their opinion, For
instance, Jeff Jacoby is a strong supporter of the death penalty who claims that by
executing violent criminals society is showing respect for those murdered by such
criminals (2011, pg. 40). This chapter also discusses if the death penalty works as a
deterrent of violent crimes and if the alternative, life in prison, is just.
This book provides perspectives from both sides of the argument, which makes it
very valuable in forming an opinion. Both supporters and opponents in this book are
biased in their writing. However, this is countered by having both opinions next to
each other, something that no other source has. Also, people with experience related
to this topic wrote the different articles or sections of this book, thus giving the book
good ethos or credibility.

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This source can be used to compare and contrast two different and opposing
arguments on the same topic. It will be useful to provide information from both
opponents and supporters.

Kirchmeier, J. (2006). Dead innocent: the death penalty abolitionist search for a wrongful
execution. Tulsa Law Review, 42(2), 403-435.

Innocence is very important when it comes to discussing the death penalty and its
effectiveness. In this article, professor Kirchmeier explains the role that innocence
plays in our perception of the use of the death penalty. He states that it is much
easier to sympathize with an innocent person than with a murderer. That is why
abolitionists use cases of people who have been wrongly executed as examples of
the wrongfulness of the death penalty. Kirchmeier also emphasizes that the term
Wrongful executions does not only apply to innocent people who have been
executed, but also to guilty people who have been sentenced to death based on
unreliable evidence, a biased jury, and prejudice (Kirchmeier, 2006, pg.434). This is
exemplified when we see a case of two people who committed the same crime but
might receive a different sentence based on their race. The article also explains how
cases of wrongful executions have led to states seeking reform and even halting
executions until the system can be improved.
A professor of law wrote this article, and it was peer reviewed; therefore this source
is very reliable. This article shows great responsibility that falls on the shoulders of
the current legal system. Although it is not clear if he is a supporter or opponent of

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the death penalty, he states that there are wrongful executions, which must be
prevented.
This article can be used to present information on the past and current state of the
legal system and the flaws it might have.

Shetty, S. (2014). The value of international standards in the campaign for abolition of the
death penalty. Brown Journal Of World Affairs, 21(1), 41-56.

According to Salil Shetty, secretary general of Amnesty International, the death

penalty is not only a matter of criminal justice but also a matter of human rights. In
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights we can find an article stating that all
humans have the right to live. However, this is not the only reason the death penalty
represents an infringement in human rights. This article mentions that the death
penalty greatly affects the lives of relatives of executed inmates, going as far as
causing them psychological and physical damage. Another point discussed is how
society drives the fight to abolish the death penalty in their respective nations. Yet
another point made is how we as a society should establish standards to protect
people from being executed under certain circumstances. For instance, make is so
that people with mental disabilities cannot be executed.
Amnesty International is an organization known for opposing the death penalty. A
member of Amnesty International created this article; therefore it is a reliable
source. Although the article focuses on the negatives of the death penalty, it uses
non-biased language and logical arguments supported by evidence.

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I can use this journal article to refer to some of the negative things about the death
penalty, as well as the effects it has on relatives of executed people.

Sween, G. (2014). Texas ain't Tuscany: how a truism might further invigorate contemporary
"cost arguments" for death-penalty abolition. American Journal Of Criminal Law,
41(2), 151-187.

This article takes a different approach and presents a logical reason, instead of a
moral reason, for supporting the abolition of the death penalty. That argument is cost
effectiveness. However, the author is not referring to cost effectiveness in relation to
monetary cost, she is referring to the benefit it brings to society. In the words of
Gretchen Sween, Executions fail to instill respect for the State; instead, this harsh,
irrevocable penalty suggests tyranny (Sween, 2014, pg. 155). Another argument
made by the author is that the death penalty is not a deterrent against crimes such as
homicide, if it were we would not have any more homicides. A more suitable
punishment would be a life of hard labor. The state stands to gain more from
abolishing the death penalty than from upholding it. The article attempts to make
this evident trough the use of rational arguments, putting aside any moral
justifications.
Instead of taking a stance of moral righteousness against the death penalty, the
article uses practicality to support its arguments. It contributes a valuable viewpoint,
one that does not use pathos to persuade the reader, something that is done by
almost every other opposing source.

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This article will be useful to provide a different explanation behind the rationale of
abolishing of the death penalty.