There were 45 men on death row in Texas and 7 in county jails with a death sentence. All of the sentences were commuted to life sentences by the Governor of Texas, and death row was clear by March 1973 (TDCJ). ... Others identify with the view that it's in-effective to attempt to stop murderers by sentencing them to death. ... Truthfully, there is always room for error; there will always be the question, what if What if the innocent was found guilty of a crime they did not commit? Great effort has been made in pretrial, trial, appeals, writ and clemency procedures to minimize the cha...

• Word Count: 517
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Merritt admitted to the police that he had purposely killed his children identifying that he had both mens rea and actus reus. ... The court deals with error of law by Magistrates, is presided over by Judge and has trial by jury. ... Leave to appeal against the sentences granted 2. Sentences set aside 3. ... It was ruled that the sentences were obviously excessive leading to an appeal. ...

• Word Count: 1185
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

(Bedau) "[T]he eighth amendment's guarantee against cruel and unusual punishment mandates that the state, even when it undertakes to punish an individual who has transgressed laws, recognize the intrinsic worth of the individual as a human being this is why the sentence of death is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment, forbidden by the Constitution." ... Of the 19 people currently sentenced to death under federal law, 15 are people of color. ... Thirteen exonerations of people sentenced to death in Illinois - including three provoked by a journalism class at Northwestern U...

• Word Count: 3235
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School