Chapter 16: The Death Penalty

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. A life sentence with the additional condition that the person never be allowed parole is called ______.

a. life without parole

b. the death penalty

c. brutalizing effect

d. none of these

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. In 1966, ______ people were against the death penalty and ______ were in favor of it.

a. 40%; 60%

b. 47%; 42%

c. 50%; 50%

d. 75%; 25%

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The most controversial subject in corrections is ______.

a. racial disparities

b. the death penalty

c. gun control

d. sex offenders

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Compared to 1966, today ______ Americans are in favor of the death penalty.

a. more

b. fewer

c. the same percentage of

d. the same number of

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Support for the death penalty peaked in ______.

a. 1965

b. 1976

c. 1983

d. 1994

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Who is most likely to support the death penalty?

a. a conservative white man who votes Republican

b. a conservative white woman who votes Republican

c. a black liberal woman who votes Democratic

d. a black liberal man who votes Democratic

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Who is least likely to support the death penalty?

a. a conservative white man who votes Republican

b. a conservative white woman who votes Republican

c. a black liberal woman who votes Democratic

d. a black liberal man who votes Democratic

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. How many states have abolished the death penalty?

a. 0

b. 5

c. 9

d. 18

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. In what year did the use of the death penalty begin again?

a. 1965

b. 1976

c. 1983

d. 1994

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. In 2016, there were ______ executions in the United States.

a. 20

b. 38

c. 71

d. 98

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Since the resumption of the death penalty, which year had the greatest number of executions?

a. 1971

b. 1984

c. 1991

d. 1999

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Since the resumption of the death penalty, the most common method of execution has been ______.

a. hanging

b. the gas chamber

c. electrocution

d. lethal injection

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Which of the following is a form of execution?

a. hanging

b. electrocution

c. gas chamber

d. all of these

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Historically, which of the following has been the most common form of execution in the United States?

a. lethal injection

b. firing squad

c. hanging

d. gas chamber

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Which of the following execution methods injects the condemned person with drugs that ultimately end in death?

a. lethal injection

b. gas chamber

c. hanging

d. electrocution

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. Which case was the first to successfully challenge the use of the death penalty?

a. Woodson v. North Carolina

b. Furman v. Georgia

c. Coker v. Georgia

d. Gregg v. Georgia

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. In ______, the Supreme Court rejected the statute that mandated that all persons convicted of first-degree murder should receive the death penalty as excessive and unduly rigid.

a. Furman v. Georgia

b. Coker v. Georgia

c. Woodson v. North Carolina

d. Gregg v. Georgia

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. In ______, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the use of a bifurcated hearing.

a. Furman v. Georgia

b. Coker v. Georgia

c. Woodson v. North Carolina

d. Gregg v. Georgia

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. In which court case did the Supreme Court rule that the use of the death penalty for rape was unconstitutional?

a. Furman v. Georgia

b. Coker v. Georgia

c. Woodson v. North Carolina

d. Gregg v. Georgia

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. In a survey of criminologists, Radelet and Lacock found that ______ agreed that the death penalty was not a deterrent to murder.

a. 39.4%

b. 48.6%

c. 64.1%

d. 88.2%

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Since the death penalty was reinstituted, ______ of the people sentenced to death have actually been executed.

a. 15%

b. 30%

c. 45%

d. 60%

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. A massive review of the research on the deterrent effect of the death penalty, sponsored by the National Academy of Science, concluded that ______.

a. the death penalty is an effective deterrent to murder

b. the death penalty is not an effective deterrent to murder

c. the deterrent effect is impacted by a number of variables

d. the research is not informative enough to draw a conclusion

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. What percentage of murder cases are tried as capital cases?

a. 2–6%

b. 5–10%

c. 2–7%

d. 10–15%

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. If a person is sentenced to death, what is the average time lapse between conviction and execution, according to 2010 data?

a. 5½ years

b. 14½ years

c. 20½ years

d. 25½ years

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. The assumption that, rather than deterring homicides, homicides actually increase following executions is called the ______.

a. brutalizing effect

b. death penalty

c. deterrent effect

d. none of these

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. Compared to a life without parole case, a death penalty case is ______.

a. more expensive

b. less expensive

c. approximately the same cost

d. impossible to analyze

Learning Objective: 16-4: Discuss the financial cost/benefit ratio of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Financial Costs and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. Blacks are overrepresented on death row by a margin of ______.

a. 2 to 1

b. 3 to 1

c. 4 to 1

d. 5 to 1

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice found that U.S. Attorneys were more likely to recommend the death penalty in cases involving ______ defendants.

a. black

b. Hispanic

c. white

d. Native American

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

29. A major source of information on the death penalty in the United States is the ______.

a. Innocence Project

b. Death Penalty Information Center

c. American Civil Liberties Union

d. Bureau of Justice Statistics

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Until the mid-20th century, ______ could receive the death penalty for the attempted rape of a white woman.

a. a Hispanic man

b. a Caucasian man

c. an African American man

d. a Pacific Islander man

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. What percentage of African American defendants are more likely than white defendants to receive the death penalty?

a. 25%

b. 50%

c. 75%

d. 100%

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. ______ increases the likelihood that a crime will be eligible for the death penalty.

a. Premeditation

b. Spontaneity

c. The age of the victim

d. The attitude of the defendant

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

33. According to the ______, paternalistic attitudes about women that prevail in our society account for the fact that women are less likely to be executed.

a. chivalry hypothesis

b. liberal feminist perspective

c. Supreme Court

d. National Organization for Women

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

34. What percentage of female offenders have been executed in the United States?

a. 2%

b. 5%

c. 7%

d. 9%

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. How many women have been executed since 1976?

a. 5

b. 28

c. 9

d. 13

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. Females who defy traditional gender roles by not enacting a feminine identity invite the wrath of the male-dominated criminal justice system, according to the ______ hypothesis.

a. evil women

b. chivalry

c. female offender

d. mad women

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Sub-average mental functioning is defined as an IQ below ______.

a. 60

b. 70

c. 80

d. 90

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

38. Which Supreme Court case held that the imposition of the death penalty on a mentally retarded defendant is not per se a violation of the Eighth Amendment?

a. Atkins v. Virginia

b. Coker v. Georgia

c. Furman v. Georgia

d. Penry v. Lynaugh

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Which Supreme Court case held that the imposition of the death penalty on a mentally retarded defendant is a violation of the Eighth Amendment?

a. Atkins v. Virginia

b. Coker v. Georgia

c. Furman v. Georgia

d. Penry v. Lynaugh

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Mental retardation is characterized by ______.

a. significantly sub-average intellectual functioning

b. concurrent and related limitations in two or more adaptive skill areas

c. manifestation before the age of 18

d. all of these

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

41. Which of the following is NOT an issue the courts have had to resolve with both mental deficiency and illness?

a. Is the person competent to stand trial?

b. Did the condition become prevalent before the age of 18?

c. Did this person at the time of the crime have the requisite ability to form mens rea?

d. Does the person’s mental condition warrant a more lenient sentence than would normally attach to this crime?

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

42. ______ is a lifelong condition of impaired or incomplete mental development.

a. Mental illness

b. Mental disability

c. Insanity

d. Madness

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

43. Which court case ruled that it is constitutionally impermissible to hold a defendant in custody indefinitely based on his or her incompetence to stand trial?

a. Ford v. Wainwright

b. Jackson v. Indiana

c. Furman v. Georgia

d. Panetti v. Quarterman

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Illness

Difficulty Level: Easy

44. Which country has the highest rate of executions each year?

a. United States

b. China

c. Saudi Arabia

d. Russia

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Comparative Corrections: The Death Penalty in China and Saudi Arabia

Difficulty Level: Easy

45. What are the two types of death sentences in China?

a. instant and delayed

b. instant and automatic

c. immediate and delayed

d. automatic and delayed

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

46. According to the Northwestern Law Center for International Human Rights, ______ of organ transplants that originate in China come from executed prisoners.

a. 24%

b. 36%

c. 48%

d. 65%

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

47. In Saudi Arabia, qisas crimes are crimes against ______.

a. the state

b. God

c. individuals

d. society

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

48. In what country can a person be executed for adultery?

a. China

b. Nigeria

c. Saudi Arabia

d. Laos

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

49. A problem with relying on DNA to demonstrate innocence is that ______.

a. it is not universally admissible in court

b. it is not always supported by science

c. it can be falsified and fabricated

d. all of these

Learning Objective: 16-7: Describe the innocence revolution and what it means.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

50. ______ signed the Justice for All Act, which granted federal inmates the right to petition a federal court for DNA testing to support a claim of innocence.

a. President Clinton

b. President Reagan

c. President Obama

d. President G. W. Bush

Learning Objective: 16-7: Describe the innocence revolution and what it means.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. The death penalty is not the most controversial issue in corrections.

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Life without the possibility of parole is provided as an alternative to a death sentence.

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Public support for the death penalty is a major factor in its retention in the United States.

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Historically, there has only been one method used for execution.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. A majority (over 50%) of the states have a death penalty statute.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Electrocution is the most common form of execution.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. The electric chair was originally introduced as a more humane method of execution than hanging.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. All states currently have the death penalty.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. On average, there are about 100 executions a year in the United States.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. The death penalty resumed in 1976 after a brief hiatus.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Woodson v. North Carolina was the first case to successfully challenge the use of the death penalty.

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Research has conclusively demonstrated that the death penalty is not a deterrent to murder.

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Some criminologists argue that capital punishment has a brutalizing effect rather than a deterrent effect.

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Over 75% of offenders who are sentenced to death have been executed in a timely manner.

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Life without parole is more expensive than the cost of a capital case (from arrest to execution).

Learning Objective: 16-4: Discuss the financial cost/benefit ratio of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Financial Costs and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. A major concern is whether the death penalty is applied in a racially discriminatory fashion.

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Between 1930 and 1980, 53% of persons executed were black.

Learning Objective: 16-6: Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Racial Disparity in Death Sentences

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Women account for about 15% of executions.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Ethel Spinelli was the first woman to be executed at the San Quentin prison gas chamber.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Easy

20. The imposition of the death penalty on a mentally retarded defendant has always been a violation of the Eighth Amendment.

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Deficiency

Difficulty Level: Easy

21. Mental illness and mental disability are two different conditions.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Easy

22. China has the highest number of executions per year.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Comparative Corrections: The Death Penalty in China and Saudi Arabia

Difficulty Level: Easy

23. A number of police labs have been accused and found guilty of falsifying and fabricating DNA evidence.

Learning Objective: 16-7: Describe the innocence revolution and what it means.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. The CT scan is the workhorse of neuroimaging used to assess the functioning of a person’s brain while engaged in some task.

Learning Objective: 16-8: Understand the issues surrounding the use of genetic and neuroimaging technology for determining exoneration and mitigation.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. Genomic and brain sciences over the past 3 decades have revolutionized death penalty discourse in the United States.

Learning Objective: 16-8: Understand the issues surrounding the use of genetic and neuroimaging technology for determining exoneration and mitigation.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Explain what it means when an offender is sentenced to life without parole.

Learning Objective: 16-1: Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Public Opinion

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. What is lethal injection? Do you believe it is “cruel and unusual punishment”? Why or why not?

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Discuss electrocution as a means of execution. Do you believe it is “cruel and unusual punishment”? Why or why not?

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Discuss what the so-called brutalizing effect is.

Learning Objective: 16-5: Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Does the Death Penalty Deter?

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Discuss the case of Ethel Spinelli and its significance.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Explain what the Innocence Project is and discuss its significance.

Learning Objective: 16-7: Describe the innocence revolution and what it means.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Innocence Revolution

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. What do you believe is the most humane form of execution? Provide a justification for your answer.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. What factors must be considered in making hanging as painless as possible?

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Methods of Execution Used in the United States

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Explain whether you agree or disagree with the use of the death penalty in corrections. Use information from the textbook to support your answer.

Learning Objective: 16-4: Discuss the financial cost/benefit ratio of the death penalty

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Entire Chapter

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Discuss the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972). What were the circumstances of the case? What did the Court rule?

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Discuss the case of Coker v. Georgia (1977). What were the circumstances of the case? What did the Court rule?

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Discuss the case of Atkins v. Virginia (2002). What did the Court rule? Do you agree or disagree with the ruling? Support your answer with information from the chapter.

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. Explain the differences among mental illness, mental disability, and “presently insane”?

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Death Penalty and Mental Disability

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Discuss the case of Ford v. Wainwright (1986). What were the circumstances in the case? What was the Court’s decision?

Learning Objective: 16-3: Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Legal Challenges to the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Some have suggested that the death penalty is technically biased against male convicts. Do you agree or disagree? Use the course material to support your position.

Learning Objective: 16-2: Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Women and the Death Penalty

Difficulty Level: Hard