cj4530syllabusfall2007

CJ 4530 The Death Penalty

COURSE DESCRIPTION (what the course is about)

As you might have guessed, this course is about capital punishment, the ultimate form of criminal justice in any country. This semester you will be introduced to topics such as:

1) a history of capital punishment in the United States;

2) death penalty law (including important cases from the U.S. Supreme Court);

3) common and uncommon methods of executions;

4) commonalities and differences in the practice of capital punishment at the state and federal levels of government and the U.S. military;

5) justifications for and arguments in favor of capital punishment;

6) arguments against capital punishment and alleged problems with the theory of capital punishment and its practice in America;

7) death penalty opinion; and

8) the likely future of the death penalty in the United States.

Special Note:

This course is not about opinions, it is about facts. This is not to say that you are not welcome to share your opinions; in fact, I insist that you do. Rather, this means I hope you will try to develop and share informed opinions B or opinions backed up by facts. I do have an opinion on capital punishment, as do most of you. I will only share this opinion with you in class as much as you ask me to do so. My opinion has been developed over many years of careful study of the death penalty and the criminal justice system as a whole. This does not mean my opinion is the only opinion or the right opinion, so I will not pass it off to you as if it is. My ultimate goal in this course is to explore this topic from many sides of the debate, rooted first and foremost in empirical evidence and expert opinion. Ultimately, you may discover your own truth about this course. To do so, it is imperative that you keep an open mind!

COURSE RATIONALE (why the course is important)

Without a doubt, there are few issues that generate such emotion and debate as capital punishment. But, as death penalty expert Robert Bohm, wrote: “One of the more unexpected findings of my research is that most people have a relatively strong opinion about the death penalty, even though they know little about it” (1999, p. xiv).

How can it be that most of us have such strong opinions about something we know so little about? This course will not only answer this question, but will also provide you the opportunity to learn a great deal of information about the death penalty. My ultimate goal in teaching this course is that you will develop a more informed opinion on this topic. If you take the course seriously and apply yourself through the readings, assignments, and class discussions you will also develop critical thinking skills that will serve you well in the future.

IMPORTANT DATES (PLEASE NOTE IN YOUR CALENDAR):

August 21                            First day of classes
*September 3                   State holiday
September 4                      UNC "Census" date: last day to drop a class without the course being counted in calculation of the "twenty-five percent surcharge" mandates by NC statute
*September 6                         Convocation
G September 26-29          Southern Criminal Justice Association annual meeting
*October 11-12                 University Break
G October 17-20               Presentations on capital punishment to the University of Sioux Falls
October 25                          Last day to drop a full semester course; last day to withdraw without penalty
G November 14-17          American Society of Criminology annual meeting
*November 21                  University Break (Wednesday, November 21 is a holiday for students only)
*November 22-23            State holidays
December 4                       Last day of formal class meeting pattern
December 5                       Reading Day
December 6-12                                 Final examination period

* = no class

G = Guest lectures

TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE:

INTRODUCTION

A. Me, you, the course, the syllabus, the rules!

PART ONE: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: THE BASICS

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 3

A. What is capital punishment?

B. Basic facts of capital punishment in the United States

CLASS NOTES

Web: “Death Penalty Sentencing Information,” Death Penalty Information Center @

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=895&scid=67

“Death Row,” Death Penalty Information Center @

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=413&scid=9

“Executions in the United States,” Death Penalty Information Center @

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=414&scid=8

C. Capital punishment in local, state, and federal government, and the military

CLASS NOTES

Web: “Capital punishment at the federal and state level” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/government.html

PART TWO: A BRIEF HISTORY OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 1; Robinson, Ch. 1 (parts on history)

A. A brief history of capital punishment in America

CLASS NOTES

Web: “History of Capital Punishment” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/history.html

O EXAMINATION # 1 (date to be announced 2 class periods in advance)

PART THREE: DEATH PENALTY LAW

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 2; Robinson, Ch. 2

A. Statutory law (criminal laws that define capital crimes and specify the death penalty as punishment)

B. Case law (court made laws that allow capital punishment and that specify the procedures for carrying it out)

Web: “The Big Four: Supreme Court Capital Punishment Decisions” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/bigfour.html

CLASS NOTES

PART FOUR: METHODS OF EXECUTIONS

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 4; Robinson, Ch 1 (parts on methods of executions)

A. Methods of executions in the United States

Web: “Methods of capital punishment” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/dpmethods.html

CLASS NOTES

O EXAMINATION # 2 (date to be announced 2 class periods in advance)

PART FIVE: JUSTIFICATIONS FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: LOGICAL AND EFFECTIVE?

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 5, 6, 9; Robinson, Ch. 3, 4

A. Arguments in favor of capital punishment

Web: “Justifications for capital punishment” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/dpsupport.html

“Death Penalty Paper” @ http://prodeathpenalty.com/DP.html

B. Retribution

Web: “The Bible and the death penalty” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/johnson.htm

CLASS NOTES

C. Deterrence

Web: “Capital punishment and deterrence” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/deterrence.html

CLASS NOTES

D. Incapacitation

CLASS NOTES

O EXAMINATION # 3 (date to be announced 2 class periods in advance)

PART SIX: ALLEGED PROBLEMS WITH THE DEATH PENALTY: TRUE OR FALSE?

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch.7, 8; Robinson, Ch. 5

A. Arguments against capital punishment

Web: “Alleged problems with capital punishment in the United States” @

http://www.justiceblind.com/death/dpproblems.html

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty @ www.ncadp.org

B. Politics and capital punishment

CLASS NOTES

C. Jury confusion and incompetence and incompetent attorneys

Web: “Death Penalty Representation,” Death Penalty Information Center @

http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=896&scid=68

CLASS NOTES

D. Costs of capital punishment versus life imprisonment

CLASS NOTES

E. Arbitrariness and discrimination

CLASS NOTES

F. Innocence and mistaken convictions & executions

Web: What Jennifer Saw, from PBS= Frontline @

www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dna/

CLASS NOTES

G. Human rights violations

Web: “The Death Penalty: An International Perspective” @

http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=127&scid=30

PART SEVEN: DEATH PENALTY OPINION AND THE FUTURE OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN AMERICA

Major Readings: Bohm, Ch. 10; Robinson, Ch 6

A. American opinion about capital punishment

Web: “Public Opinion About the Death Penalty,” Death Penalty Information Center

@ http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=209&scid=23

B. The future

Web: “Life without Parole,” Death Penalty Information Center @

http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?did=555&scid=59

O EXAMINATION # 4 (Wednesday, December 12^th, 3:00-5:30 PM)

Final grades will be assigned based upon successful completion of all course requirements, quality of work, and timeliness of completed assignments. Specifically, your grade will be calculated as follows:

A 94-100%
A- 90-92%
B+ 87-89
B 84-85
B- 80-82
C+ 77-79
C 74-75
C- 70-72
D+ 67-69
D 64-65
D- 60-62
F Below 60

PLEASE NOTE: When a grade falls between two of the categories provided above, determination of your grade will be based upon attendance and class participation. Thus, it is to your advantage to be a responsible, active student in this class!

Cheating is strictly prohibited! Cheating is a cheap way to get through school. By cheating, you "cheat" yourself of a significant learning opportunity, and you "cheat" your classmates who have worked hard to learn course materials. Those caught cheating on a test WILL receive a failing grade for the course, NO EXCEPTIONS. If you copy someone else's writing assignment, you will receive a ZERO on the assignment (and a very dirty look from me).

Examinations: Your four tests may consist of multiple choice and short essay questions, which will come from the text, classroom lectures and discussions, and any other readings I assign.

No test make-ups are given in this course, unless due to a documented emergency situation (in writing)! If you have an emergency and you know in advance that you will be missing a test, I expect that you inform me BEFORE the designated test date, preferably by talking to me in person, or by calling me at my office phone # or by emailing me at the address listed on the front of the syllabus. Reasonable notice is expected (and I decide what is reasonable).

Test dates are approximate (with announcement approximately 2 days in advance from instructor) and are subject to change based on course progress. You are responsible for being here on the day of each test. Make-ups will not be given because you did not show up for the test on the right day!

Attendance and Reading: Students are expected to attend ALL classes. Since much of the material presented in class comes from outside sources and from the instructor's experiences, missing class means missing important material. My general rule is that, the more classes you miss, the lower your grade!

The instructor understands that students must periodically miss classes for legitimate purposes such as sickness. Such absences will be excused if you get me a note from a doctor or if you go to the university clinic and let me know about it (they will tell me if you were there when I call to verify)!

Students are expected to read ALL assigned materials BEFORE the first day that the material will be presented and discussed. It would be wise for you to outline readings as you read, and to take notes so that you will better understand material as it is presented in class. Remember that you (and taxpayers) are paying for this experience, so make the most out of it!!!

Assignment Due Dates: Due dates will be firmly set, and late work WILL NOT be accepted. Work in this course will include periodic writing assignments. These assignments are part of the 20% for your attendance and participation grade. Such assignments give the instructor the opportunity to check on your progress throughout the semester, and provide individualized suggestions for study. They also give you a chance to demonstrate your writing abilities.

The instructor WILL NOT accept late work that has been left in his box or slid under his office door, etc. due to the likelihood that such work will be lost, misplaced, stolen, etc. Also, please do not ever email me any homework assignment (I do not open attachments)!!! If you are not in class on the day that the assignment is handed out and due, you will not be able to complete the assignment unless your absence is excused. Finally, be aware that, unless announced otherwise, these papers must be typed or you will not receive credit.

I will treat you with respect, and I expect you to treat me and your fellow students with respect. Therefore, I ask that you abide by these simple rules:

2) Don't be disrespectful in class by talking outside of classroom discussion, reading the paper, listening to music, sleeping, and so on. Save this for out of class (where you spend the great bulk of your lives)!

3) TURN OFF YOUR F’N CELL PHONES and PAGERS and other electronic gadgets !!! (seriously, you are not THAT important) … you can use a laptop to take notes but you better not be doing anything else with it (e.g., IM) or I will tell you to turn it off!

Keep in mind that IT IS A CRIME in North Carolina for your cell phone to ring in class. Professors are also authorized to SEIZE your phone if it rings, or even to answer it! I’m sure I can think of some things to say to embarrass you if the phone rings in my class! So, unless you are a police officer, medical doctor, etc. you really do not need this technology in class, do you? Don’t worry, they will leave a message and you can call them back!!!

4) You have freedom of speech, but no acts of sexual harassment will be tolerated! Be tolerant of others' viewpoints. And don't take things personally. By the way, cussing is OK, but please only try to do it “for effect” (such as “TURN OFF YOUR F’N cell phones!)”

5) Eat, drink and be merry. Eat and drink whatever you like as long as you clean up after yourselves. BUT, please refrain from using any tobacco products in class (e.g., dip, snuff, etc.).