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1. According to opponents of capital punishment, there is no evidence the death penalty deters violent crime.
a.
True
b.
False
2. An offender who presents belated evidence of innocence is entitled to a new hearing in a federal court before
execution.
a.
True
b.
False
3. According to opponents of the death penalty, capital punishment is applied in a discriminatory fashion.
a.
True
b.
False
4. As of 2013, 32 states and the federal government currently recognize capital punishment for those who
commit murder.
a.
True
b.
False
5. Aggravated and mitigating circumstances are looked at during the sentencing phase of a bifurcated trial.
a.
True
b.
False
6. Use of the death penalty will continue to be a major source of debate among legislators, scholars, and
correctional officials.
a.
True
b.
False
7. Lethal injection is fast, easy, and painless.
a.
True
b.
False
8. The case of McCleskey v. Kemp focused on racial discrimination under Georgia’s death penalty law.
a.
True
b.
False
9. The case law since Furman indicates capital punishment is legal as long as it is imposed fairly.
a.
True
b.
False
10. Insanity is a recognized defense for commission of a crime because mens rea is not present.
a.
True
b.
False
11. Public executions were common until the 1830s, when most were moved inside prison walls.
a.
True
b.
False
12. The last public execution in American took place in Wheeling, West Virginia, on November 17, 1929.
a.
True
b.
False
13. In a democracy, public opinion usually has little to no impact on public policy.
a.
True
b.
False
14. Recent evidence has determined that the death penalty does have a deterrent effect on the general public.
a.
True
b.
False
15. The number of death sentences carried out has declined by more than half since the 1990s.
a.
True
b.
False
16. Although Florida is known as the “death penalty capital of the country,” the overall percentage of murderers sentenced
to death in Florida is actually lower that it is in other surrounding states.
a.
True
b.
False
17. Death row inmates tend to be poorly educated men from the middle class.
a.
True
b.
False
18. Although nearly one of ten arrestees for murder is a woman, judges and juries seem very reluctant to sentence a
woman to death.
a.
True
b.
False
19. The belief that execution of wrongdoers deters others from committing the crime reflects:
a.
a moral belief.
b.
a utilitarian belief.
c.
an incapacitative belief.
d.
a restorative belief.
20. The belief that one who takes another's life deserves a punishment equal to the victim's fate is:
a.
a moral argument.
b.
a utilitarian argument.
c.
a restorative argument.
d.
a deterrence argument.
21. Opponents of the death penalty argue that only has the right to take a life.
a.
a victim
b.
the survivors
c.
the state
d.
God
22. The term refers to the belief that one who takes another’s life deserves punishment equal to the
victim’s fate.
a.
incapacitation
b.
retribution
c.
rehabilitation
d.
incapacitation
23. The term refers to the idea that the punishment of execution will deter others from violent criminal
activity.
a.
incapacitation
b.
retribution
c.
deterrence
d.
rehabilitation
24. The term refers to the desire to keep the offender from committing further crimes.
a.
reintegration
b.
rehabilitation
c.
incapacitation
d.
retribution
25. The case of held that potential jurors who object to the death penalty cannot be automatically excluded
from jury service in capital cases.
a.
Gideon v. Wainwright
b.
Witherspoon v. Illinois
c.
Gregg v. Georgia
d.
Furman v. Georgia
26. Current case law indicates that capital punishment is legal as long as:
a.
the voters of the state approve it.
b.
it is administered to deliver the least amount of pain.
c.
it is lethal injection and not electrocution.
d.
it is imposed fairly.
27. In Ford v. Wainwright the Supreme Court ruled that should not be executed.
a.
the insane
b.
juveniles
c.
veterans
d.
disabled people
28. Because of the heinous nature of the crime, several states have sought to enact laws permitting use of the
death penalty for adults who:
a.
kill a child while drunk driving.
b.
rape a child.
c.
molest a child.
d.
neglect a child.
29. Which of the following countries has not abolished the death penalty?
a.
France
b.
Germany
c.
China
d.
Australia
30. According to the authors, until the mid-1700s criminal punishment in Europe and American colonies focused
on which of the following?
a.
mutilation
b.
whipping
c.
dismemberment
d.
all of these
31. In most parts of United States, executions were carried out in public until the:
a.
1750s.
b.
1830s.
c.
1870s.
d.
1900s.
32. After 1935 the number of executions began to:
a.
decline.
b.
soar.
c.
climb.
d.
stabilize.
33. The number of states without the death penalty has in recent years.
a.
decreased
b.
remained unchanged
c.
increased
d.
stabilized
34. Since 1976 the number of people facing the death penalty has:
a.
declined.
b.
increased.
c.
stabilized.
d.
diminished.
35. Analysts argue that public opinion for the death penalty is:
a.
impossible to gauge.
b.
strongly in favor.
c.
strongly opposed.
d.
somewhat confusing.
36. In most Western democracies the death penalty has been:
a.
streamlined.
b.
impartial.
c.
abolished.
d.
humanitarian.
37. The latest attempt to impose capital punishment in a way that does not offend modern cultural sensibilities
is:
a.
the gas chamber.
b.
the electric chair.
c.
lethal injection.
d.
the firing squad.
38. To try to ensure a more thorough deliberation before imposing the death sentence, legislatures enacted:
a.
an oversight committee.
b.
a waiting period.
c.
a sentencing grid.
d.
a two-stage process.
39. Research shows that the death penalty is more likely to be imposed when:
a.
the offender is white.
b.
the offender is African American.
c.
the victim is white.
d.
the victim is African American.
40. In Atkins v. Virginia the Supreme Court ruled that:
a.
executing the mentally retarded is unconstitutional.
b.
discrimination must be proven in each case.
c.
the death penalty is unconstitutional.
d.
bifurcated trials are constitutional.
41. In which case was it ruled that offenders cannot receive the death sentence if they were under 18 at the time
of the crime?
a.
Ring v. Arizona
b.
Georgia v. Furman
c.
McCleskey v. Kemp
d.
Roper v. Simmons
42. Consular officials must be notified when a foreign national is:
a.
arrested.
b.
executed.
c.
deported.
d.
exiled.
43. The case of showed that a three-drug lethal injection protocol violates the “cruel and unusual
punishment” clause.
a.
Gideon v. Wainwright
b.
Gagnon v. Scarpelli
c.
Gregg v. Georgia
d.
Baze v. Rees
44. In ___________________, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was itself not unconstitutional, but the way
it was administrated constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
a.
Furman v. Georgia
b.
Cameron v. Klenowski
c.
Gregg v. Georgia
d.
Gideon v. Wainwright
45. In the United States, a recent poll indicated that __________ percent of the population favors capital punishment.
a.
10
b.
60
c.
25
d.
90
46. In ______________, the Supreme Court ruled that juries, not judges, must make the crucial factual decisions as to
whether a convicted murderer should receive the death penalty.
a.
Roper v. Simmons
b.
Atkins v Virginia
c.
Gregg v. Georgia
d.
Ring v. Arizona
47. In ____________, the Supreme Court ruled that offenders cannot be sentenced to death for acts committed prior to
reaching the age of 18.
a.
Roper v. Simmons
b.
Atkins v. Virginia
c.
Tennessee v. Garner
d.
Ring v. Arizona
48. Most death penalty defendants are and are provided counsel by the state.
49. Retribution, incapacitation, and _________ are usually cited as the reasons for keeping the death penalty.
50. The case of decided that a court that was hearing a death penalty case must use a bifurcated system of
judgment.
51. Legal cases continue to raise concerns about the lengthy periods that condemned offenders spend on death
row because of .
52. Currently within the United States, challenges to are taking place in most states with an active death
penalty.
53. The Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment.
54. In Furman v. Georgia (1972), the Supreme Court ruled that the way the death penalty was administered
constituted .
55. states and the federal government currently authorize capital punishment.
56. The case of examined whether or not the death penalty was administered in a cruel and unusual manner.
57. In Ring v. Arizona the Supreme Court ruled that must make the factual decisions as to whether a
convicted murderer should receive the punishment of death.
58. The most common method used in executions in the United States today is _______________.
59. Opponents of the death penalty state that only ___________ has the right to take a life.
60. The utilitarian argument in support of capital punishment is based on the belief that execution of offenders
____________ others from committing murder.
61. The number of people facing the death penalty in America has ____________ dramatically.
62. In the case of __________________, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty could be reinstated throughout
the United States after being ruled unconstitutional four years prior.
63. In the case of _________________, the Supreme Court ruled that defendants had the right to counsel that meets an
“objective standard of reasonableness.”
64. The biggest demographic predictor of attitudes toward capital punishment is ___________.
65. Ford v. Wainwright
66. Bifurcated
67. Baze v. Rees
68. Retribution
69. Aggravating
70. Strickland v. Washington
71. Gregg v. Georgia
72. Furman v. Georgia
73. Three-drug protocol
74. Mitigating
75. Given that the death penalty has been abolished in other Western democracies, why do a majority of people in the
United States still favor its use? Be sure to fully explain your answer.
76. Why did the state of Illinois put a moratorium on capital punishment? Is this a favorable resolution of their
problem? Should the rest of the United States follow Illinois’ example? Why or why not?
77. List and explain three significant Supreme Court cases that addressed key issues around how capital
punishment is be carried out. Do you think the court made the correct decision in each case? Why or why not?
78. Discuss two arguments for and two arguments against capital punishment. Identify whether each argument
is rooted in moral or utilitarian principles. How are these two philosophical stances different?
