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Chelsea Moore

Dr. Cassel

ENG 1201

6/30/19

Annotated Bibliography

My essay will attempt to find a better alternative program to our current capital

punishment system. I want to learn the different aspects of death row including pre-existing

mental conditions, execution methods, living condition while waiting for execution, and the

monetary implications of a death penalty case versus a non-death penalty case. Should we

retire the death penalty, and if so, what system can we replace it with.

Drehle, D. V. (2015, June 8). Bungled Executions. Backlogged Courts. And Three More Reasons

the Death Penalty is a Failed Experiment. Time Magazine, pp. 31-32.

Over the years there have been attempts to justify the death penalty, which are

discussed in this Time Magazine article. The security of prisons has long been a concern of the

general public. The fear of convicted murderers escaping a prison would be enough to scare

anyone. Luckily, through improved innovation and technology we have prisons that are much

more secure and impenetrable.

The death penalty was originally a tool used by white supremacists. In Virginia it was

considered a capital crime for slaves to administer medicine, for fear that it was an attempt to
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give poison. In Georgia, if a slave were to strike his master in such a way that it left a bruise, it

was considered a capital offense.

David Von Drehle, authored this article for Time Magazine to show the different angels

at which we look at the death penalty. He touches on the monetary aspects, as well as the

execution methods, as well as the origin of the death penalty and how it has evolved. I plan to

use this article in my paper to discuss how we started the death penalty and how it was used

primarily as a punishment for slaves. It then evolved to a sentence used for fear of a convict

escaping the prison, and has now evolved to place where we have better buildings and

technology, so what is the reason for keeping the death penalty now?

Erb, K. P. (2014, May 1). Considering The Death Penalty: Your Tax Dollars At Work. Retrieved

from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2014/05/01/considering-the-

death-penalty-your-tax-dollars-at-work/#55b06b8664b3

There is also the monetary factor that comes with the death penalty system. According

to a study done by the Kansas Judicial Council, defending a capital case is four times more costly

than defending a case where the prosecution is not seeking the death penalty. Death penalty

cases are estimated to cost an additional $470,000 to the defense and prosecution. This

increase is cost is not due to the administration drugs, rather the lengthy and extensive trial

required to end a person’s life. There is approximately 8,000 hours spent on a capital case

versus the 180 hours spent on a non-capital case.

This article was written by Kelly Phillips Erb, who has earned her Master of Law in

Taxation, and intern working for the IRS. This article was written to inform Americans just how
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expensive it is to sentence someone to death versus an alternative punishment or program. I

plan on using this article in my paper to show that the current system is not cost effective, and

that a better and more efficient system can be implemented.

Frieden, J. (2018, October 28). Some Prisoners Executed Despite Mental Illness Diagnosis.

Retrieved from MedPage Today:

https://www.medpagetoday.com/meetingcoverage/aapl/75973

Frieden is an editor of MedPage Today and wrote about the execution of prisoners with

mental health illnesses. The 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel

and unusual punishment, which includes the execution of those who are mentally insane. One

fourth of the executions performed over an eight-year period comprised of convicts that had

been diagnosed with or treated for mental illness. A study from the years 2010-2017 shows that

of the 273 inmates that were executed, 270 were executed by lethal injection, two were

executed by electrocution, and one was executed by firing squad.

I plan on using this article to show that many of these inmates have a preexisting mental

health condition, that is not being treated during their incarceration. Many death row inmates

will not admit to any mental health issues, despite being treated or diagnosed prior to

sentencing.

I would also like to use this article show the different methods of execution. Methods

other than legal injection though rare do still happen. Alternative methods including

electrocution, firing squad, and hanging, are still legal in some states.
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Lose, E. (2014). Living on Death Row. El Paso: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC.

Erik Lose wrote this book to show the living conditions in Mansfield Correctional

Institute in Cleveland Ohio. Lose wrote the book after many interviews with several death row

inmates that were willing to share their experiences with him. This source discusses everything

from the schedule, to the cell, to social dynamic in a death row institution. I plan to use this

resource to determine how exactly the death (up until execution) differs from a life without

prole sentence. I plan to use this source to determine what we can change to make the system

better and more effective.

Namyalo, D., & Macalesher, J. (2012). The abolition of the death penalty and its alternative

sanction in East Africa: Kenya and Uganda. Retrieved from Penal Reform International.

This research paper was written to discuss the alternatives sentences and programs that

could potentially replace the death penalty. In the country of Kenya there are five offenses that

make one eligible for the death penalty, as opposed to the United States that reserves the

death penalty exclusively for murderers. The Kenyan government continues to sentence their

citizens to death, although they have not carried out an execution since 1987. There are

currently 1,440 prisoners on death row. On August 8th 2009 the Kenyan President commuted

4,000 prisoners death sentences to life in prison due to the undue mental suffering and

psychological trauma caused by extended time served on death row. Alternative sentencing to

the death penalty suggested in Kenya are life without parole, with the exception of an offender

that is mentally ill. The current method of execution in Kenya is hanging.

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I plan on using this article in my paper to compare the death penalty of other countries

to the death penalty in the United States. I also plan to use this article to show the alternative

sentences that the Kenya uses, as they have not performed an execution since 1987.

Wiley Periodicals. (2019). Ohio bill would bar death penalty if convicted person has SMI. Mental

Health Weekly, 1-8.

Wiley Periodical reports on the active bill that would prevent those with a serious

mental illness from being sentenced to murder at the time the crime was committed. House Bill

136 has the support of many psychiatric association’s such as the Ohio Psychological

Association and the Ohio Psychiatric Physicians Association. In substitution to the death the

offenders would be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, life in prison with the

possibility of parole in 25- 30 years, or a special type of life sentence under the Sexually Violent

Predator Sentencing Law.

I plan to use this article in my paper to discuss the possible alternative sentences to the

death penalty as well as address the issue that there are people sentenced to death who suffer

from severe mental illness.

Young, R., Hines, Z., Tovell, J., Turner, J., & Parker, N. (Directors). (2018). I Am a Killer [Motion

Picture].

I Am a Killer is a Netflix documentary that consists of interviews of people that are

currently on death row. Since the death penalty reintroduction in1976 more than 8,000 people

have been sentenced to death. In the case of death row inmate #999866, David Lewis shot and
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killed a 74- year old woman during a break in. He was sentenced to death row in 1987 and is

still awaiting execution 30 years later. “…No solid family unit, a lot of disruption. I wasn’t given

much attention. I was given free reign, so I became a wild child. I just had an I don’t care

attitude. I felt like no one cared about me, so why should I, so I’m just going to do as I please”

David Lewis was sentenced to death row at twenty-two years old, he was kicked out of his

mother’s home at sixteen years old.

I am using this documentary in paper, because it shows the other part of the story. I am

using this to apply to the pathos of the readers. To show that while the inmates have made

terrible mistakes, they are human nonetheless. Many offenders had neither family, nor good

role models. We all like to say that we would never act in such a way, if we were in the same

circumstances, yet how can we truly know what some of these people have endured

throughout their life.