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Is the Death Penalty Effective to Punish Capital Offenses

Is the Death Penalty Effective to Punish Capital Offenses?

Since the independence of the United States, its both federal and state governments have punished a significant percentage of arbitrarily-chosen execution with the ultimate death sanction. Over 14,000 individuals have fallen victims of capital punishment since colonial times. As at the 1930s, approximately 150 individuals were viciously executed every year. These practices could not go unnoticed for long as the general public outrage, civil rights activists, and legal challenges led to the waning of the methods. By 1967, the death penalty had virtually brought to a stop in America, waiting for the court decisions of several case files. A significant number of American demographic hold that capital punishment inherently goes against the constitution ban concerning cruelty and unusual punishment. On such, the state should not be subject to killing its citizens in the name of seeking justice. That merely is re-offending. This paper critically looks at the effectiveness of the death penalty as well as the justifications towards its ban.

Is it Wrong or Good to Believe God Exists

Is it Wrong or Good to Believe God Exists?

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Is it Wrong or Good to Believe God Exists?

The theme of God’s existence has been discussed far and widely since time immemorial. Many people argue that God exists while others say that God does not exist. Each of these arguments has impacts in the spiritual life of the people involved. In all these scenarios, everybody is ready to offer facts to support their arguments. This essay entails some of the reasons to believe that God exists and that it is good to believe in God’s existence.

Arguments Supporting God’s Existence

The Ontological Argument: This argument originates from Archbishop of Canterbury who describes the argument to support God’s existence. He considers God to be the greatest is to be conceived and justifies that if there is nothing human beings can conceive to be greater than God is. Anything that can be conceived in mind must exist in reality and therefore just as God exists in mind, so he does exist in reality. To drive the point home, Anselm uses the analogy of the painting work and the paint. He asks which of the two is great, and obviously, it is the painting. He concludes to say, “Just as the painting exists not only exists in mind but in reality, so does God CITATION Cri17 l 1033 (Apologist, 2017).

Cosmological Argument: This argument brings in the concept of the Bing Bang theory which Aquinas uses to pin down the scientists. Yes, the scientists claim that they do not believe in the creation theory but rather the Bing Bang theory, but they forget that they did not provide explanations for the powers that were behind the theory. What we can deduce is that the forces behind the theory were so powerful, eternal, and metaphysical. So to say, the force that was behind the theory mimicked the same qualities of God. Further argues that in the world there is motion, and the mover of the motion cannot be moved as well. So for the motion to take place, the first thing is that the mover must be unmoved and this mover is God.

The Moral Argument: Close to all human beings have the sense to know what is wrong and what is right. In as much as people would like to oppose the truth, there is an internal feeling that gives a sense of what is moral. Any normal human being will frown there are various human atrocities like rape and murder. Just as a law of nature, all normal human being have the norm of reciprocity where humans feel to pay back to those who gave to them. Any sound human being would value generosity, love, appreciation, kindness among other good traits. Atheists will argue that human beings behave so because that is how we evolved and that communities which had such traits were successful compared to those who opposed values. Their argument has failed as communities like Boko Haram have not failed despite their opposition CITATION Cri17 l 1033 (Apologist, 2017). The atheists’ evolutionary arguments as well fail because not all animals have the same morals as human beings, yet they consider human beings to be animals. Craig then puts it clearly that there is an infinite, eternal mind in an unknown place, who is the source of our reasoning capability and that it God. If God was not existing, then objective moral values could not be heard of, but since the moral values exist, God also exists.

Christianity has survived all the Substantial odds: The world has had may Kings and rulers of the land consisting of great women and men since time immemorial. But among all these rulers, only one leader has reigned, still rains and will forever reign; that is the Jewish carpenter by the name Jesus Christ who was born in a humble background. Jesus’ case is a unique one as compared to cases where others rulers ruled their kingdoms. Jesus was a king who did not have the resources that a normal King should have. He was a very humble king as he made friends with people from humble backgrounds as he did with his disciples. When Jesus sent his disciples to go and make disciples and baptizes them in the name of the Trinity, most of them saw it impossible to convince people, but with God nothing is impossible. At the end of the mission, many people got saved and baptized manifesting the great people of God CITATION Cri17 l 1033 (Apologist, 2017). This argument can be backed up with the increasing number of Christians in the world despite its humble beginning. It has beaten all odds and risen to the point that it is the world’s top religion all this manifesting the Power of God.

Embarrassing Testimony: In most cases, authors of different books would not love to include embarrassing testimonies in their books just to sell to their followers easily. Even though there are numerous examples in the Bible that support embarrassing testimony like Peter denying Jesus in Mark 14:66-72. There is the story of a demon-possessed man in Mark 3:22 and there is an account of a prostitute who uses her hair to clean the feet of Jesus which some might group as sexuality. Women were also not considered in the society during those days and were given very fewer privileges CITATION Cri17 l 1033 (Apologist, 2017). The Jewish who wrote the bible were so honest in their writings and included the accounts of all the embarrassing testimonies that most writers do not love to include in their writings. The availability of these testimonies in the bible makes it be one of the books with sincere authors hence raising its validity.

Extra-Biblical Testimony: Atheists are funny in a sense that they require extra-biblical evidence to believe in God’s existence as if the Biblical evidence is not enough to convince them. They do not put into account that the New Testament and the whole Bible had numerous writers who often at times wrote about the same instances in the bible. Unlike books written by independent authors, they cannot be trusted since nobody is there to site the same facts they wrote. For the case of the Bible, it is a historical text that links to each other and what authenticates its content is how different writers, in different times, and different venues write about the same content. It is witnessed by the gospel writers who wrote most of the accounts that took place in a way that there was no contradiction.

Early Christian Bravery: One of the brave Christians is Paul who began the mission as Saul and persecuted Christians until he met Jesus on his way to Damascus. He got converted and started preaching the good acts of God in his life. He is a good writer of the books in New Testament that amount to almost 13 books CITATION Cri17 l 1033 (Apologist, 2017). He did not leave serving God; he endured many beatings, and torture in the prisons until Nero in Rome beheaded him. James too was a brave man of God even though he wanted to stop Jesus from ministering until he witnessed Jesus rise from the dead. He later became a writer of the book of James in the Bible. Peter too who denied Jesus three times later became a strong Christian and wrote the Book of 1st and 2nd Peter. All these were brave men of God among others who served God diligently even though they were murdered.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Apologist, C. (2017). 10 Good Reasons to Believe God Exists: A Response to “10 Poor Reasons to Believe God Exists” by Mr. Oz Atheist. Christian Apologist, https://christian-apologist.com/2017/04/22/10-good-reasons-to-believe-god-exists-a-response-to-10-poor-reasons-to-believe-god-exists-by-mr-oz-atheist/.

Author, A. t. (2018). Why Should I Believe God Exists? BeThinking, https://www.bethinking.org/god/why-should-i-believe-god-exists.

Is Intelligence One or Many Abilities

Is Intelligence One or Many Abilities?

Intelligence is one of the most talked about abilities in a given society. However, its definition and description are not entirely standard. Some define it as the capacity to learn quickly or to understand concepts. Others view it as the ability to deal with trying and new situations with relative ease compared to other people. In the traditional definition of intelligence, Drigas and Papoutsi (2018) term intelligence as the ability to reason and a skilled use of logic to learn, understand concepts, and maneuver difficult situations. Sometimes, intelligence may be measured and determined through objective criteria such as tests and life stages. From these definitions alone, it is clear that intelligence includes a myriad of abilities. It denotes the ability to be an all-rounded individual, one with the ability to interpret different situations and to analyze where to apply a variety of skills. It includes a range of different skills, talents, aptitudes, abilities and the overall capability to apply these variants with the right combination wherever applicable. For example, an intelligent person in a classroom setting may not be one who scores very well in one subject and fails in others but rather one who is able to meet the minimum requirements in almost every area of examination including co-curricular activities and socialization. In this example, intelligence looks at various elements, including skills, comprehensive capacity, understanding concepts, people skills, and application of all these in a real life setting. Even the ability to apply certain knowledge in order to manipulate an environment requires that one is skillful in more than one area and with many abilities. Therefore, intelligence is an amalgamation of different mental abilities that can be summarized to include problem-solving, planning, logic, and reasoning encompassing associative memory, numerical abilities, perceptual speed, spatial visualization, word fluency, verbal comprehension and different combinations of these abilities.

References

Drigas, A. S., & Papoutsi, C. (2018). A new layered model on emotional intelligence. Behavioral Sciences, 8(5), 45.

What are the Developmental Tasks of Childhood?

Developmental tasks represent the broad indicators or “jobs” within childhood that an individual needs to accomplish in every stage for a child to learn and gain life skills at the required (appropriate) times. According to McElroy et al. (2018) the tasks of a given stage does not necessarily need to be complete or fully mastered before one can begin the jobs that mark the next stage. Nonetheless, the sooner a task is mastered the easier it is for a child to tackle the next stage’s tasks. Throughout childhood, a child will go on working on a majority of tasks despite having one stage that has a more prominent task. There are tasks of infants through 18 months, 18 months old to 3 years, 4 and 5 year old tasks, 6 years through 11years old, and tasks of 12 year olds to 18 years. In the first task, the child is expected to trust their environment, believe that their needs are important, feel loved, establish a bond with caregivers, and explore the world. For 18 months and 3 year olds, they are expected to become more independent, see themselves as separate from the caregivers, own things, continue to explore the world, and begin to identify feelings. 4 and 5 year olds learn planning and executing in a task, continue to explore and be part of their world, learn about power and how to use it, learn that behavior has consequences, and gain socially appropriate behavior. For 6 year olds to 11 years, the tasks include mastering trying tasks, following rules and accepting them, gaining responsibility, gaining a variety of new skills such as social skills, selecting role models, continuing to learn about the world, increasing independence, enhancing reasoning ability, and becoming cooperative. For 12 through 18 years old, the tasks include establishing individual identity, separation of emotional attachment with parents, experimenting with values and deciding what to adopt, learning relations with opposite sex, and renegotiating relationships with other family members.

References

McElroy, E., Belsky, J., Carragher, N., Fearon, P., & Patalay, P. (2018). Developmental stability of general and specific factors of psychopathology from early childhood to adolescence: dynamic mutualism or p‐differentiation?. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(6), 667-675.

Is healthcare a fundamental human right

Is healthcare a fundamental human right?

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There is a great deal of debate over whether or not healthcare is a fundamental human right. Many people believe it is a basic human right, while others contend that it is a privilege that should be earned. Several key points should be considered when debating this topic. Ultimately, the decision of whether or not healthcare is a fundamental human right is a complex one. There are valid arguments on both sides of the issue (Ayubdar, M., & Vang-Phu, T. (2021). Therefore, there are several reasons on healthcare is a fundamental right.

From this article, “Healthcare as a Universal Human Right: Sustainability in Global Health by Nunes,” I learned that healthcare is a fundamental human right. This means everyone has the right to healthcare, regardless of income, race, or social status. Healthcare is essential for human dignity and well-being and should be accessible to everyone (Nunes, 2021). Unfortunately, healthcare is not accessible to everyone in many parts of the world. This is often due to poverty, lack of infrastructure, and political instability. To make healthcare a reality for everyone, we must address these issues. We need financial support for countries that lack the resources to provide healthcare to their citizens. We also need to build infrastructure and promote political stability. Only then will healthcare be a reality for everyone—Healthcare as a fundamental human right and the importance of sustainability in global health. The author discusses the concept of healthcare as a human right and the various ways it can be achieved. The author also discusses the importance of sustainability in global health and the multiple ways it can be achieved.

However, the article “Access to Healthcare as a Fundamental Right or Privilege? by Verulava” taught me that healthcare is not a fundamental human right. The author argues that healthcare is a privilege, not a right and that access to healthcare should be based on need, not on a person’s ability to pay. The author also argues that healthcare is a scarce resource and that rationing is necessary to ensure that everyone has access to the care they need. While healthcare is a fundamental human right in many countries, there are several reasons why it is not considered a fundamental human right in others (Verulava, 2021). One reason is that healthcare is a service someone must provide, and not everyone has the same access to healthcare providers. Another reason is that healthcare is a costly service, and not everyone can afford to pay for it. Finally, some argue that healthcare is not a fundamental human right because it is not an absolute right and that other rights are more important.

Works Cited

Nunes, R. (2021). Healthcare as a Universal Human Right: Sustainability in Global Health (p. 224). Taylor & Francis. https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52617Verulava, T. (2021). Access to Healthcare as a Fundamental Right or Privilege?. Siriraj Medical Journal, 73(10), 721-726. https://he02.tcithaijo.org/index.php/sirirajmedj/article/view/253306Ayubdar, M., & Vang-Phu, T. (2021). ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS REGULATIONS. Journal of Legal, Ethical and Regulatory Issues, 24, 1-12. https://search.proquest.com/openview/74c7710b7592dd38a549f25fb0e7f569/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=38868

IS EDUCATION WORTH THE COST

IS EDUCATION WORTH THE COST?

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Is Education Worth The Cost?

Different norms and beliefs define a society. However, when it comes to education, there is a manner in which it is viewed as one that determines a person’s place in the community. Education in the contemporary world has been taken as one of the essential parts of society. However, in a real sense, it is not everything that matters. First of all, education is very costly and in this concerning college and university education. Many people spent a lot of money on education, which does not help them that much, and education does not get into their minds. This is what becomes for some college students a time well spent making new friends and having new experiences‌ (Kerr, 2019).

Most high school students in the United States wait eagerly after finishing high school for a letter of acceptance or rejection from their different universities of choice. This means, therefore, the transition has to take place, and most of the parents have to use a lot of money to prepare their children for college life. Most of the parents go shopping and pay school fees, which are very much, and they can sometimes go even a further effort to get loans for their children to have a college education. This especially happens in developing countries. However, the question that remains unanswered is whether the education these students pursue after high school education is worth the cost. This is a question that has been debated for so long, and it keeps on bringing new perspectives every day. Some individuals believe that education is essential and that people should pay all the possible amount of information to ensure that education is gained.

On the other hand, some individuals believe that education is not very important. The best way to teach is to provide information to the person who wants to be educated and to learn. I agree with the latter perspective.

This means education is not worth the amount of money different pay to get this education. Therefore, the best thing to do is stop education at all costs and ensures that every individual gains access to information. Therefore if the education system factors in making information available even before students can get into college, if the information is provided, there will no need for teachers, and there will be a tremendous loss. Therefore teachers are not required there will be better places for experiments carried out by the uncontrolled science of the world(Kerr, 2019).

Acceding to Forbes, the cost of attendance in public in-state colleges is approximately $27,000 per year. On the other side for private colleges, this amount goes to around $55,000. Compared to the reality of issues, this amount of money is too much just for getting a certificate that may come without all the required skills. It, therefore, turns out that education is self-based and not school-based. This is because unless a person decides to study and use the resources to develop themselves into what they need, it is challenging for them to learn. With this realization, it turns out why education is so expensive (Tretina, 2020).

First of all, it is essential to consider that education is just an arrangement of the freely available information in most sites, libraries, and other places in an orderly manner. This means that when a person studies a degree course, they are just paying for the arrangement of the information and not for the information they are getting. Other things a person can pay for are the time spent within the institution and their skills from their lecturers who have had experience. Therefore, information is not paid for since it can be easily obtained and at a meager price compared to school fees‌ (Abbiati, & Barone, 2017).

Therefore it is a significant consideration for some people to make. The most important reason people go to universities and colleges is for their improvement of skills and the desire to look for better employment with better salaries. However, this needs skills, and there is always a question; which one is better? College certificate or skills?. It is why some individuals like Elon musk are against the education system and focus on the formation of a person and what they like and believe to be their true identity and calling to perform and achieve.

References

‌ Abbiati, G., & Barone, C. (2017). Is university education worth the investment? The expectations of upper secondary school seniors and the role of family background. Rationality and Society, 29(2), 113-159.

‌ Kerr, E. (2019, June 17). Is College Worth the Cost? US News & World Report; U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2019-06-17/is-college-worth-the-cost

Tretina, K. (2020, December 29). Is College Worth The Cost? Pros Vs. Cons. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/is-college-worth-it/

Is Death Penalty Effective

Is Death Penalty Effective

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Is Death Penalty Effective

The death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, involves the offenders’ execution sentenced to death following the conviction by courts of law of particular criminal offenses. Although the terms death penalty and capital punishment are sometimes used interchangeably, Clark (2017) shows that the execution does not always follow the penalty. The proponents of death punishment argue that death punishment helps deter crime and fulfill other goals of punishment. However, death punishment opponents say that it is unethical, inhumane, and does not meet the punishment goals. There has been a lot of controversy regarding the imposition of the death penalty.

In the United States, death punishment has been restored since the year 1976. The number of approximately killed inmates was thirty in 2015 (Spitzberg et al. 2018). Most states that were affected were Virginia, Florida, Texas, and Missouri. It was said that two thousand nine hundred and eighty-four convicts were waiting on the death row (Spitzberg et al. 2018). For the last two decades, research has shown that Americans were in great support of punishment through death. The support has been seen to fall steadily with time though the majority of the republicans are in agreement with the act. The Democrats oppose this capital punishment and ask for its review (Spitzberg et al. 2018). Also, the issue of racial discrimination has been evident in many death penalties. African American people have become most victims of this punishment (Steiker et al. 2015).

Firstly, there is controversy concerning whether the death punishment helps in enhancing retribution. According to Villalobos (2020), the proponents of death punishment argue that it satisfies the principle of retribution when punishing severe offenses like murder. The proponents’ primary argument is that guilty individuals should be punished and that the punishments should proportional to the crime severity. These arguments are based on the belief that justice requires individuals to suffer for their wrongdoing and suffer in a manner that reflects their crimes. Retribution requires all offenders to face punishments that reflect their punishments. Therefore, in such cases, the most appropriate punishment for murder would be the death penalty. Chan et al. (2018) also show that the proponents of death punishment also argue that the courts should heed to the society’s cry for justice and judgments that befit various crimes. Steiker et al. (2019) show that capital punishment proponents often support their arguments with the biblical concept of “an eye for an eye.” However, Baumgartner et al. (2017) show that the idea is usually misinterpreted. The idea means that only the guilty should face punishments and that the sentences should neither be too lenient nor too severe. Most opponents of the death penalty argue that the penalty acts as vengeance somewhat instead of retribution, and it is a morally wrong concept. Also, Villalobos (2020) claims that the anticipatory suffering of the offenders who may sometimes be kept in a death row for too long awaiting their execution makes the punishment too severe, violating the principle of retribution the amount of penalty should reflect the crime.

Secondly, there are dilemmas regarding whether the death penalty acts as a deterrence against murder and other serious crimes. The death penalty proponents argue that executing convicted murders would instill fear and prevent other peoples from committing similar crimes. However, Steiker et al. (2019) argue that there is no significant correlation between the death penalty and murder deterrence. Also, Chan et al. (2018), some of the executed individuals could not be prevented from engaging in similar crimes due to mental defects and illness. According to Clark (2017), some murders are committed in very emotional states that contain the offenders from thinking about the consequences of their acts, hence previous execution of the convicted criminals cannot deter such crimes. Also, there are doubts about whether the death penalty deters crimes more than life imprisonment. The opponents of the death penalty argue that the anticipatory period before the convicted criminals’ execution minimizes the death punishment’s deterrent effect. Villalobos (2020) indicates that a long gap between the crime and the punishment, either by certainty or time, nullifies the punishments’ deterrent effect. Also, capital punishment’s deterrent effect would be more significant if the punishments were executed in public places and in a humiliating way. However, convicted criminals are always perpetrated in private places and relatively painless methods that use drugs and injections, reducing the criminals’ deterrent effects. However, some proponents of the death penalty argue that the sentence is effective even if it fails to satisfy the punishment’s deterrent goal. For instance, Steiker et al. (2019) argue that executing murderers helps reduce their number, hence decreasing the murder of innocent individuals.

Rehabilitation is another crucial goal of punishment. Clark (2017) shows that rehabilitation involves changing a criminal’s behavior to mold them into legally abiding citizens of society. However, the death penalty does not allow the rehabilitation of the offenders’ behaviors and returning them to the community. The proponents of death punishment argue that the penalty enables the criminals’ rehabilitation during the anticipatory periods. For instance, Villalobos (2020) indicates that some offenders use the anticipatory period to express remorse of their acts, repent, and undergo spiritual rehabilitation before their execution. However, the argument does not support capital punishment but seeks to prove that capital punishment can lead to rehabilitation.

The death penalty proponents also argue that the penalty prevents reoffending since the executed criminals cannot kill again; however, the opponents of the penalty dispute this argument by providing other punishment methods for offenders from society. The proponents of the death punishment counter this argument by arguing that although there are minimal cases, some people escape from the prison and kills again, hence necessitating the death penalty. The proponents of capital punishment also argue that although the imprisonment without parole prevents the society from the threats caused by the convicted murderers, the murders are a significant threat to the prison police and the staffs. Therefore, the best way of preventing the reoccurrence of murder offenses would-be offenders’ execution.

Some proponents of the death penalty argue that it acts as an incentive to help police in their investigations. Baumgartner et al. (2017) show that plea bargaining is used to support the police in their investigation in most countries. The process enables the prisoners to get a reduced jail term if they agree to collaborate with the police in digging more evidence. Clark (2017) indicates that when the death penalty is the most probable punishment, the prisoners are more willing to collaborate with the police officers to reduce their punishments, at least to life imprisonment. However, Villalobos (2020) argues that using the death penalty to fetch for evidence from individuals is torture and should be never be tolerated.

According to Chan et al. (2018), the death penalty is also used for psychological benefit. For instance, Clark (2017) shows that the penalty usually symbolizes that bad things happen to people who deserve them in Japan. Also, Villalobos (2020) also shows bad things happening to people who deserve them, reinforce the contrary view that good things happen to those who deserve them, creating a psychological effect that makes people feel rewards for good deeds, hence fostering hard work and other values.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is massive controversy on the effectiveness of the death penalty in averting crimes. The proponents of the death penalty serve various principles of the punishments including the deterrence, retribution, sacrificial rehabilitation, avoids reoccurrence of crimes, makes the prisoners collaborate with the police in various investigations in exchange with a reduced jail term, and reinforces psychological believes that fosters hard work and lead a good life. However, the opponents of the death punishment do jot exhaustively serves the punishment goals. Death penalties fail to provide a chance for offenders’ rehabilitation and do not enhance retribution and deterrence against crime. Proponents of death punishment also argue that although the police use the penalty in doing their investigations in exchange for reduced jail term. However, the penalty acts as the offender’s humiliation to produce some evidence, amounting to torture. In general, the death penalty is unethical, and it fails to satisfy all the punishment goals. The NGOs, public, and other stakeholders should continue advocating for the complete removal of the death penalty, considering ethical consideration and respect for human dignity.

References

Baumgartner, F., Davidson, M., Johnson, K., Krishnamurthy, A., & Wilson, C. (2017). Deadly Justice: A statistical portrait of the death penalty. Oxford University Press.

Chan, W. C., Tan, E. S., Lee, J. T. T., & Mathi, B. (2018). How strong is public support for the death penalty in Singapore?. Asian journal of criminology, 13(2), 91-107.

Clark, R. (2017). To Abolish the Death Penalty. In Capital Punishment (pp. 176-180). Routledge.

Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2019). The American Death Penalty: Alternative Model for Ordinary Criminal Justice or Exception that Justifies the Rule? New Criminal Law Review, 22(4), 359-390.

Villalobos, A. (2020). Countering Pro-Death Penalty Attitudes.

Ye, X., Sharag-Eldin, A., Spitzberg, B., & Wu, L. (2018). Analyzing public opinions on death penalty abolishment. Chinese Sociological Dialogue, 3(1), 53-75.

Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2015). The American death penalty and the (in) visibility of race. The University of Chicago Law Review, 243-294.

Is Death Penalty Effective

Citation:

Baumgartner, F., Davidson, M., Johnson, K., Krishnamurthy, A., & Wilson, C. (2017). Deadly Justice: A statistical portrait of the death penalty. Oxford University Press.

Annotation:

The authors in their book try to bring out a bigger picture of the death penalty. They suggest that retribution is not enough evidence for capital punishment. They bring up questions on how the punishment could be made proportionate and given to the worst offenders. Also, they suggest that a limit should be kept on the number of crimes to which the death penalty is to be given.

Citation:

Chan, W. C., Tan, E. S., Lee, J. T. T., & Mathi, B. (2018). How strong is public support for the death penalty in Singapore?. Asian journal of criminology, 13(2), 91-107.

Annotation:

The article studies the strength of public support for the death penalty in Singapore. It states that Singapore is well known for use using the death penalty for drug trafficking and murder cases. Singapore makes the death penalty mandatory but later amended for the judge to give an option of life imprisonment. The article reports on findings that assess knowledge and support of the death penalty.

Citation:

Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2015). The American death penalty and the (in) visibility of race. The University of Chicago Law Review, 243-294.

Annotation:

This article talks about the American death penalty and racial discrimination in the ruling. The authors say that racial injustice is common in American criminal justice and this causes suffering to most black Americans as they become victims. The article details how the blacks were mistreated during the civil war and how the Supreme court avoided racism.

Citation:

Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2019). The American Death Penalty: Alternative Model for Ordinary Criminal Justice or Exception that Justifies the Rule? New Criminal Law Review, 22(4), 359-390.

Annotation:

This article looks at the alternative models for the ordinary criminal justice system. The authors state that the Supreme Court has come up with a substitute justice system limited to capital cases. This includes; proportionality in sentence outcomes, the requirement of individualized sentencing, and regulating the defense counsel. These regulations were set under the statement that ‘death is different.’

Citation:

Villalobos, A. (2020). Countering Pro-Death Penalty Attitudes.

Annotation:

In this article, the authors suggest that the death penalty has been the main issue in many prisons. The authors tested two methods regarding how they would change the minds of individuals towards the death penalty. They tested the innocent-risk argument that suggests that there is greater risk in killing someone innocent. They then tested the deterrence-risk argument that states that the death penalty is not the best way to handle a capital offense. They found out that the innocent-risk situation increased the probability of reducing death penalty attitudes.

Irving and Poe Writing Styles

Irving and Poe Writing Styles

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Irving and Poe Writing Styles

Irving and Poe were both authors who demonstrated the writing style of the Romantic period. The two had numerous comparisons, and nonetheless, they possessed even more dissimilarities, in both writing the subject as well as style. All this is apparent in their writings, “The fall of the House of Usher,” written by Poe and in “Rip Van Winkle,” by Irving. They both apply their inordinate aptitudes to take and guide the readers into the story. It is evident that Edgar Poe contributed a lot to the revolution of the short story for example from a tale to an art. He effectively generated the detective story and improved the psychological thriller (Poe, 2018). Correspondingly he created some of the most significant fictional criticism during his period. Therefore his contributions are strong theoretical statements on poetry as well as the short story, and thus this has resulted in a positive worldwide influence on literature. He assisted in pioneering the short story through the use of prevailing plus innovative essentials whereby he afterward revolutionized literature.

The differences between Irving and Poe are that Irving typically applied humor in his works whereas Poe applied horror. An instance of Irving applying humor is his explanation of Rip developing some asleep from the alcohol consumption for about twenty years when met the Dutchmen. On the contrary, Poe took the more morbid method of nightmare, evil, death, and crime towards his writings (Irving, 2014). He did this by exploiting the fear that is in each of every person by bringing horrific actions and imaginations in his writings. Consequently, Poe implements the Gothic method in composition, by captivating a full benefit of gothic subject matter, fundamentals and some conspiracies besides lingering on murder, violence as well as insanity. A classical piece of this type is “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which presents a distressing atmosphere, man’s psychological terror and the dark plot to disclose the procedure of disintegration plus obliteration of the humanoid mind (Poe, 2018).

The two authors use distinctions of classic goliath writing in their workings. The two significant features of the goliath in literature are the use of colors, precisely black, red plus white besides the depiction of supernatural concepts or beings in daily life. All these are evident in both the authors’ writings. Poe has used colors in his writings and also uses supernatural notions as convincing forces that interrelated with their characters. In his short story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” Poe uses both the interplay of dark and light colors and also moods plus supernatural ideas. In “The Legend of the Sleepy Hollow, Irving exhibits Crane riding home through the woods where he is continually showing the shifting shadows as well as the interplay of light plus dark in the trees (Irving, 2014). Moreover, the whole story is based on beliefs in ghosts plus supernatural beings. Therefore in both of these stories by these two authors, they have applied gothic in a significant manner as they have used color, the interplay of dark plus light as well as supernatural beliefs and ideas.

References

Irving, W. (2014). The legend of sleepy hollow and other stories. Penguin Classics.

Poe, E. A. (2018). The Fall of the House of Usher. Clap Publishing, LLC..

Introduction Facts about Iran

Iran’s Policy-Making Process

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Introduction: Facts about Iran

Iran is a Middle Eastern country located to the north of the Persian Gulf and South of the Caspian Sea. Iran shares borders with Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Azerbaijan. Iran covers a total area of 1, 648, 000 square miles and has an estimated population of 80, 840, 713 million (Alipour, Hafezi, Amer, & Akhavan, 2017). Iran’s chief of state is Ayatollah Khamenei and the president is Hassan Rouhani who had held the position since 2013. Its capital city is Tehran with an estimated 7.304 million. With regard to the system of governance, Iran has had an Islamic theocracy since 1979.

The question of whether Iran is a democracy or an authoritarian system is a tough question to answer. The country is said to be a democracy but it is not entirely democratic. Currently, Iran’s politics adopt a framework that combines both presidential and theocracy democracy. In theory, a democratic system of governance is inscribed in the constitution but in some ways, they are not a democracy. At one point, Iran was a complete democracy in 1952 where they elected Muhammad Mossadegh. However, after two years, he tried to nationalize the oil industry by putting it under the control of the government. Currently, the formation of the Iranian government begins with the citizens who elect a president and 290 members of parliament every four years. Additionally, the citizens also elect 86 individuals to serve as members of the Assembly of Experts after every eight years. Once elected, the president has to appoint 22 cabinet members to be approved by parliament. As such, Iran can be described as both a presidential and parliamentary democracy system because citizens decide who joins parliament and who becomes president. Iran can be classified as a gray zone as evidenced by some of the tools it employs including having proxies and surrogates in countries across the Middle East, and the use of Quds Force. The proxies and surrogates are armed actors that support how Iran projects power in the region. These actors have already developed local legitimacy in communities in Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq hence allowing them to become social and political actors.

Iran is a unitary system that is Islamic with one legislative house. Iran’s 1979 constitution put Iran in a system of government that is mixed whereby the judiciary, executive, and the parliament are overseen by various clergy bodies. A rahbar meaning leader doubles as the head of the state and still oversees the institutions. The authority and duties of a rahbar are equated to those of a head of state. A unitary system contributes both negatively and positively to towards the policy-making process. Among the advantages is that legislation of laws happens more quickly and the power government has clear cut powers. Additionally, unitary systems often respond quickly to emergencies and citizens are more informed and less confused about the system of governance. Further, unitary systems have a smaller government which makes them less costly to run. On the other hand, unitary governments cause a detachment in the citizens’ needs and lead to hyper centralism which has to do with overreliance on the central government. Additionally, unitary systems often lead to dictatorship

Iran’s decisions are made in line with the country’s constitution. The Islamic Republic of Iran has a constitution that was adopted in 1979 in a referendum held on the 2nd and 3rd of December. The constitution which is still in use today replaced the Constitution of 1906. To date, the constitution is referred to as a hybrid of the democratic and theocratic elements. While the first two articles vest sovereignty to God, article six warrants popular elections for positions of parliament, presidency, and the Majlis. Article one stipulates that “The form of government of Iran is that of an Islamic Republic.” Nevertheless, the main democratic procedures, and rights are subordinate to the Supreme Leader and Guardian Council who powers are also stipulated between articles 107 and 112. Iran’s constitution has been amended once; on 28th July 1989. The first legislature and executive were formed on 14th March 1980 and 5th February 1980 (Juneau, 2016). Worth noting, some aspects of Iran’s constitution cannot be altered, for instance, the government’s democratic character, the republic’s objectives, the Islamic nature of the laws and the government, Ummah’s leadership, and its administration.

The institution that holds primary policymaking power in Iran is the executive particularly the Supreme Leader of Iran. His status is that of Head of State and he works closely with the elected president. Although the president is in charge of the day-to-day running of the county, he does not decide the general guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy of the country, and neither does he command the security organs and armed forces. This authority is vested in the hands of the Supreme leader as vested in the constitution. Through the clerical commissar’s system, the Supreme leader is bale to monitor state policies. The Iranian government has various restrictions begin with the fact a President cannot run for office for three terms combined. Further, Iran has an intricate set of balances and checks and for this reason, it is likely that the government will get hung up during times of crisis. Regarding the judicial review, Iran’s judicial restrictions are subjected to limitations such as Precedent where cases are decided based on the laws and findings of prior cases. They are required to follow precedents set by higher courts. The council of guardians comprises twelve jurists; six are appointed by the parliament while the rest are selected by the Supreme leader. The council of guardians is tasked by the constitution to interpret the laws and decide if the laws are in line with Islamic law. This means that the council or guardians holds veto power over parliament. The Iranian government has a limitation on the confidence vote. The Islamic government is formed on the basis of religious guardianship and the constitution regards Islamic contents of the revolution including the nature, conditions, and limits of the duty pointing that the vote of confidence can be sought from the Assembly of Council of Ministers.

The legislative branch of the Iranian government has two components namely, a unicameral parliamentary chamber known as the Islamic Consultative Assembly and a reviewing power. Without the existence of simultaneous existence of the Guardian Council, the Parliament does not have legal status. Hence the existence of the Council is a condition for the efficiency of the legislative power. This is because the bills that are passed must be submitted to the council of enactment. The Unicameral assembly representatives are selected via multi-seat vote where 290 representatives are elected to serve four terms. The candidates are approved by the Council of Guardians. The executive Branch is selected through democracy in elections where the head of state is selected to serve a four-year term. The chief of state, that is the supreme leader is selected by the Assembly of Experts. The cabinet, i.e., Council of Ministers are elected by the president and approved by the legislature. The supreme leader also has control over some ministries and appointments. The President serves four years and cannot run for three terms while the Supreme leader serves a maximum of eight years. Iran’s executive has extensive power of emergency decree particularly in the case of accidents and other emergencies where every person has a right to medical attention and health. Bureaucracy plays a vital role in policy legitimating and policy formulation in Iran. It has proved effective in reforming the regime of politics following that the country has is among the oldest bureaucratic empires in history. Without a doubt and just like other nations, Iran continues to battle various problems with corruption in both public and private sectors taking center stage. To eliminate the problem requires a powerful system of political nepotism and patronage pervading all sectors of the economy. With many Iranians suffering the effects of a floundering and mismanaged economy, the Iranian regime has attempted to blame the distress of its citizens on going by the suctions implemented in countries like the United States. Iran has an intricate set of balances and checks and for this reason, it is likely that the government will get hung up during times of crisis. Regarding the judicial review, Iran’s judicial restrictions are subjected to limitations such as Precedent meaning that they made decisions based on prior cases, and from the deliberations, it is evident that the inputs fail to match the outputs. Despite the many strategies placed by the government to improve the lives of its citizens, its efforts have not emerged as successful.

References

Alipour, M., Hafezi, R., Amer, M., & Akhavan, A. N. (2017). A new hybrid fuzzy cognitive map-based scenario planning approach for Iran’s oil production pathways in the post–sanction period. Energy, 135, 851-864.

Juneau, T. (2016). Iran’s policy towards the Houthis in Yemen: a limited return on a modest investment. International Affairs, 92(3), 647-663.

IRAN AND UNITED STATES THEOCRACY

IRAN AND UNITED STATES THEOCRACY

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Theocracy is a complex word which combined refers to a form of government by which certain religious beliefs are aimed at by the belief in a god. Iran and the United States are two great governments that familiarize on the outside. However apart from the common significance on the surface both Iran and the United States have got apparent dissimilarities that lies in the fact that Iran is an Islamic theocracy. In this case rulers specifically undergo certain religious beliefs who claim to be directed by his or her god. Compared to the ancient days of cultural and religious beliefs it is an historical event that see these rulers as messengers of their god through straight revelation to their people and nation as whole. The United States and Iran have unlike approaches in the present globe from histories, culture, religious beliefs and economics that pose threat to both nations as they are expanding in various ways of human kind merits.

The Islamic democracy refers to an opinionated ideology that seeks to be relevant with the Muslim principles to the civic rule. Iran is an example a Muslim position in the form of Islamic republics that endeavor to institute the Sharia law and more comprehensive enclosure of Islam into the associations of the state. However the constitution creates authority in other branches, since the ultimate leader has supreme power to set out of any person or rule. Contrasting the ideological arguments for the Iranian to the ideology behind the more secular ideas of the United States declaration of independence and constitution the United States was from the formal colony meaning that the U.S government was derived from the British government.

The partition of the church and the federal state resulted to executive, judiciary and legislative divisions to the United States becoming a democratic nation globally. The basic structure of the Iranian government starts at the top with the supreme leader known as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini since 1979 when Islamic Republic was found. The supreme leader’s who is also the commander-in –chief of the armed forces role was to set the tone and direction of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies. The supreme leader has the authority to select and release the supreme commander of the Islamic revolutionary Guard Corps and the leaders of the judiciary. In addition the Supreme Leader’s legislative body is more authoritative than the president’s ministers and has the power to get involved in any subject of state on the Supreme Leader’s behalf.

The president is the second highest official, however contrasting him with the Supreme leader the president’s power is often cut off by the constitution which subordinates the whole executive branch to the supreme leader resulting to the only branch that does not control the armed forces. The leader executives of both Iran and the United States are referred as presidents. Although, the president of Iran is nominated by means of the supreme majority of the well-liked vote, and uncommon occurrence, while in the United States the majority takes part in an election through the Electoral College. In cooperation executives appreciate a four year term with the alternative to show the way for one more term. As for concerns of duty and power within their relevant governments, the position as president of the United States immensely overcomes that of the president of Iran.

The President of the United States serves as the chief of approximately all facets of management for instance the chief diplomat, chief of state, commander-in-chief, chief legislator, but the Iranian President is only accountable for the inner workings of the executive organization. Apart from the president there are other eight vice presidents and a cabinet formed of twenty two ministries who serve under the president. The Iranian structure is also formed of the parliament whose body consists of 290 members. Legislative body forms legislation and confirms the country’s budget. The assembly of experts in the Iran constitution follows after the parliament. The members in turn elect the supreme leader from within their own position.

The supreme leader appoints six jurists from twelve of them that are consist of the council of guardians. They are comprised with the power to interpret the constitution and determine if the laws passed by parliament are in the line with the Sharia law. Ayatollah Khomeini created the Expediency council to provide advice to the supreme leader. These resulted to the expediency council being powerful in the governing structure in the nation. In 2002 the Iran parliament speaker said that reforming the Expediency council is in line with the people’s devotion for change, which they incurred in different elections. These call invoked the United States president in which he alleged the unelected in Iran. The laws of the Special clerical court, that takes place separately of the customary judicial structure and is liable merely to the supreme leader are as well ultimate and cannot be amend. The Iran government is largely held by the top leader who appoints the leader of the magistrate who later appoints the head of the highest court and the chief republic prosecutor.

National security and Intelligence of the Iranian government is not controlled by its executives, although the president has ostensible law over the Supreme National Security Council and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Comparing and contrasting this basic structure of the Iranian government with the American government both constitutions explain the rights of people, the roles of the supervision regime and the needs of the Iran’s constitution. Differentiating the Iranian constitution with the United States constitution, America has confirmed that it formed a valuable government to look after its community and defend their human rights. Compare to the United States constitution, Iran constitution is more in particular determined on the religious power but not in the rights and freedom of an individual. A constitutional theocracy is a theocracy, linked on a constitution, where designated officials function within the limits of the constitution rather than in a straight line in the bounds of the religion. Religion is still the major power of a legitimate theocracy as well as the management bases laws and their enforcement on a constitution.

The major difference between the United States and the constitution of Iran are for instance religious freedom, civil rights and civil liberties. Under article two of the Islamic Republic constitution states that Allah is the only one god. On the other hand the United States use the institution clause to point out that the assembly shall make no law respecting an establishment of religious beliefs. The Americas constitution enrolled the legislature, judiciary and the executive division to only discuss the significance of each duty of the articles. The Iran’s constitution drastically altered a lot of changes from the French Fifth constitution. These were as a result of religious control and later lacked the concern and opinion from the community.

In addition the Iran’s constitution is unstable and it is not religious free as it reflects its constitution more to the Islamic Sharia law and thus not letting the community in the nation free to cultural and religious beliefs. In prior to that, the United States is more flexible to its constitution and thus resulting to it being more stable and more religious free to its people. Contrasting the civil rights between these two nations, in general the United States civil rights are not limited. The American declaration of independence and constitution criticized the Iranian regime’s record of human rights violence and abuse because the Iranian citizen cannot choose their leaders with the freedom of expression since the Guardians of Council manage the election procedures. In addition because the Iran’s Interior and Intelligence ministers have been concerned in human rights abuse the Iran’s constitution has led to worsening background for civil liberties.

Abundant restriction to the freedoms of an individual is a significant and a vulgar impact to the community as the Iran government cannot protect its people. The political parties and interest groups influence the governments of Iran and the United States revolutionary. Within the republic of the political civilization of Iran every key to governmental decision were made by the shah and his ministers. This fusion revolution resulted in the appearance of a well known political culture. The prime factor of this political rhythm is omnipresent state of mind that the institution is obliged to guarantee social justification to the citizens participating in politics. The change of the political civilization owed much to the personality of the first supreme leader. His determination was to overthrow the kingdom and replace it with a fresh culture that devoted its values from Islam.

Though the parties in the Iran nation are not much profession compare to the parties in the United States. The reason as to why these parties in Iran are not well organized is because it is bounded with inadequate leadership by religion. In Iran Mass political participation has been a purpose and character of post revolutionary. But the membership is not via political parties but through religious organization. The influence of political parties in the government of the United States had a long history during the era of federalists and anti-federalists. These political parties and interest groups in Iran betrothed in political associates rather than full fledged groups of adequate time activists. In concise, Iran parties are yet at a premature stage of growth and party diligences. This makes the Iran government still in an emerging concise of political growth. Various sectors for example schools and offices also have Islamic managements that undergo similar interests to those of the mosque deliberate institutions. In addition many secular groups exist. The Iranian and the United States government’s influence over mass media have provided freedom of the press. While, according to the Iran’s government, the influence to freely relate to the parliament is not as for the United States. The Iran’s constitution provides freedom to the press only if the press implies and agrees with the Islamic principles. These require every mass media to have a legal and valid publishing license to permit the mass media. Still, if the mass media comprises of any subject that is perceived or linked to be anti-Islamic is not permitted a publication license. There are also other newspaper published but the fact that they are considered to be appropriately Islamic they do not comprise of the essential government.

In addition any published book that is referred to as un-Islamic can be affirmed and considered as an offence of both the author and the publisher as liable to attempting to insult the Islamic morals. Prior to that all the radio stations and television broadcasting is under the control of the government. The community of Iran is pressured with the Iran’s constitution comprised with the Islamic principles known as the Sharia law. The press takes part in a vital position in the social equality of the United States. Many journalists in the United States see themselves as protectors of their nation. When the role of the press is pursued with passion it is vault to annoy the superior leaders in the government. These create tension at times between the press and politicians. In a wide range of view the community at times agrees with the press but other times they disagree and side with their elected politicians. The press is mostly blamed for many aspects of American political ventures, however at times the politicians wish to side with the press and take advantage of attempting to get their messages out to the public.

While the public relies on the mass media as a source of information comprising politics the politicians also depend on the press. On a different point of view the politicians at times favor the press with a motive of them shortening their schedules and political fights and keep them up to date. The politicians believe that the money and trust they devote to the press will pay off later in the form of re-elections and political rallies for their rule suggestion. The attempt of the government to control the media is not without consequences because the function of the media links the governors and the governed.

The evolution of press has greatly influence what United States be on familiar terms with the politics. These is because the politicians became reliant on the press and tried to benefit from them but later the press responded forcefully defending themselves as watchdogs of democracy. Comparing and contrasting the Iran government and the United States government, the Iran constitution does not protect the human rights of an individual as it includes religious belief and culture. It supports and relies mostly on the Islamic principles that hinder the Iranian each and every freedom granted to him or her. The United States being in political asperities for a long time has led it to be flexible to its constitution and therefore giving and ensuring each and every citizen protection and effective measures to human rights of an individual.

In addition the Iran government may be considered as unfit to be the ruler of a free person and of justice of humanity, unlike the United States that considers each and every right of an individual in either different state of culture, religion and political affairs. The America and Iran have different modes of ruling in the modern world. At this time the American nation is fitting reliant on the oil whereas the Iran nation is further susceptible to the fuel, natural gas and mineral deposits. These two great nations should come to a firm agreement to protect its people globally and maintain the equality of humanity.

Biography

Beisner, Robert. American Foreign Relations since 1600 a Guide to the Literature, Second Edition. 2nd ed. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2003.

Cordesman, Anthony H.. Iran’s military forces in transition conventional threats and weapons of mass destruction. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1999.

Geer, John Gray, and Wendy J. Schiller. Gateways to democracy: the essentials – an introduction to American government. Second Ed.

Mafinezam, Alidad, and Aria Mehrabi. Iran and its place among nations. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2008.

Habeeb, William Mark. Iran. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2004.

Hiro, Dilip. Iran under the Ayatollahs. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2013.

Involvement of Women in Criminal Activities

Involvement of Women in Criminal Activities

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Involvement of Women in Criminal Activities

The article by Jody tries to explore the role of women in criminal activities. In the United States, men appear to be the dominant gender that engages in criminal activities. According to Jody, the most predominant gender-based criminal activities include rape and robbery. Jody recorded that the number of women who participated in criminal activities accounted for a negligible percentage. From various reports by the criminal investigation department, there were high rates of manslaughter and acts of burglary (Miller, 1998). Jody looked at the central idea of women’s presence of women in the male-dominated criminal activities. Ideally, the focus was to understand what makes male criminal violent compared to women in similar criminal activities.

Jody was concern about the lack of severe critic on the involvement of women in criminal activities. There is a wide gap in criticism that occurs following criminal activities involvement than when women engage in similar activities. The author further presents how prejudice exists when crimes involving women appear (Miller, 1998). Colorism appears with criminal activities, young colored ladies and particularly those from economically unstable families are subject to unruly behaviors. While male criminals focus on suburban setting, female criminals appear to target nondomestic streets to carry out their activities.

The behavior of these women in the male-dominated field is their survival tactics. Most of the female offenders focus on avoiding victimization, either my men and other people in society. Although some women committed the crime out of victimization by their counterparts, others have other motivating factors to engaging in criminal activities (Miller, 1998). Different studies attributed the involvement of women in criminal activities to express underlying anger following rape, alienation, and to some extent, class oppression.

In terms of ethnicity, African Americans living in urban areas are more likely to engage in criminal activities than other racial groups. Stress and economic factors contribute to women’s involvement in criminal activities. Inequality between genders is a crucial concept in criminal activities in urban settings.

Primarily, the main reason for involvement in criminal activities is the need for money and the gaining of material goods. Most of the criminal have the urge of acquiring goods in a short time due to drug addiction. Most criminals aim to achieve class, including having some designer clothes, jewelry, and pleasure level (Miller, 1998). Besides, most people who engage in criminal activities feel like they should be the source of attention. In contrast, some women feel like they should obtain money and material goods to support family members. Female offenders engage in criminal activities by targeting women through personal confrontation while they target men in sexual manners.

References

Miller, J. (1998). Up it up: Gender and the accomplishment of street robbery. Criminology, 36(1), 37-66.