Today in the United States it is hard to mourn the loss of one when hundreds are killed annually, but what gives someone the right to take another life? ... The first attempted reforms of the death penalty in the United States occurred when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia's death penalty laws. ... "The death penalty is not now, nor has it ever been, a more economical alternative to life imprisonment." ... Executions resumed in 1977, and by the early 1990s nearly three thousand persons were under sentence of death and more than 180 had been executed. The defects i...

• Word Count: 1564
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death punishment for even minor crimes such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians. ... Thomas Jefferson was the foremost to try to reform the death penalty by proposing a measure to revise Virginia's death penalty laws. ... The death penalty is a better deterrent than imprisonment because taking an offender's life is more of a severe punishment. ... As Isaac Ehrlich is quoted saying, "If the execution of a guilty capital murderer deters the murder of...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Actually, one of the marijuana laws was to grow the plant in the state of Virginia, even though president Thomas Jefferson grew the plant. ... It was then that marijuana became a social problem, "marijuana is depicted as an alien intrusion into American life, capable of transforming healthy teenagers into sex- crazed maniacs." ... In the late 70's early 80's, too many people began to smoke marijuana. ... Michael Young got life in prison without parole for just being a co-conspirator with marijuana; he had no evidence against him just statements. ... The bulk of Schlosser's r...

• Word Count: 2124
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School