The death penalty is a highly debated practice for many reasons. A few being the cost of execution via taxpayer dollars, the morality of state-sanctioned killing, and the idea of justice and closure for the families of murder victims. The most popular anti-death arguments pertain to the eighth amendment which is used to argue that… Continue reading Choosing Death: The Physiological and Psychological Effects of Death Row on the Condemned and the Practice of Volunteering for Execution
Entry #6- Gender disparity and the Death Penalty The topic of race and gender disparity in regards to the death penalty is a highly debated topic. Although race disparity is more common, sparking iconic Supreme Court cases such as Furman v. Georgia and implementation of the Gregg decision the latter, gender disparity, is commonly swept… Continue reading Gender disparity and the Death Penalty
The practice of volunteering for execution by stopping all appeals is not an uncommon occurrence on death row. It has been proven that death row conditions, specifically solitary confinement, have the potential to produce mental illness and conditions such as hallucinations, hypersensitivity to sensory stimuli, and extreme anxiety, but what about inmates who commit murder just because they want to die? This was the case for James French and more recently, Christina Riggs. If inmates who wish to commit state sanctioned “suicide” are obliged, the message of the death penalty in itself is skewed, and concerns about the mental health process upon conviction, unearthed.
Entry #2: Bonnie Heady and the Greenlease Case On September 28, 1953, Robert (Bobby) Greenlease sat focused at his desk at a private school in Kansas City, Mo., when he was informed his aunt had arrived to pick him up. Upon arrival at Notre Dame De Sion, a school for young boys, Bonnie Heady appeared… Continue reading The Greenlease Kidnapping and Murder
Webster's World 