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Capital Punishment by Jari Niemi, Ph.D. ExtensionActivities EXTENSION ACTIVITIES: 1.Writing Assignment It has been statistically established that African-Americans who kill European-Americans are much more likely to receive a death penalty than European-Americans who kill African-Americans. Is this statistic enough to argue for the abolishment of death penalty? Have your students write a three-to-four page argument which attempts to demonstrate that since we cannot administer the death penalty without discrimination, it should be abolished, or that such discrimination, while perhaps abominable, doesn't argue for the rejection of the death penalty. If you have discussed this issue before in you classroom activities, then you can offer students some ideas as to how to accomplish this assignment. As always, make sure students clearly identify their reason for their conclusion, and take up some hypothetical objections. 2.Discussion/Debate Assignment Divide student into debate teams, large or small. The assignment is debate the following question: If capital punishment is morally justifiable, should it only be limited to crimes of murder or could it be justified for other sorts of crimes. Historically, capital punishment has been administered in response to espionage, adultery, theft, and many other things. Why should it be limited just to murder? Here one could discuss the recent bill introduced by Texas legislature indicated in the "case studies" but one can certainly open up the debate to include other possibilities as well.

Capital Punishment

by Jari Niemi, Ph.D.

ExtensionActivities

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

1.Writing Assignment

It has been statistically established that African-Americans who kill European-Americans are much more likely to receive a death penalty than European-Americans who kill African-Americans. Is this statistic enough to argue for the abolishment of death penalty? Have your students write a three-to-four page argument which attempts to demonstrate that since we cannot administer the death penalty without discrimination, it should be abolished, or that such discrimination, while perhaps abominable, doesn't argue for the rejection of the death penalty. If you have discussed this issue before in you classroom activities, then you can offer students some ideas as to how to accomplish this assignment. As always, make sure students clearly identify their reason for their conclusion, and take up some hypothetical objections.

2.Discussion/Debate Assignment

Divide student into debate teams, large or small. The assignment is debate the following question: If capital punishment is morally justifiable, should it only be limited to crimes of murder or could it be justified for other sorts of crimes. Historically, capital punishment has been administered in response to espionage, adultery, theft, and many other things. Why should it be limited just to murder? Here one could discuss the recent bill introduced by Texas legislature indicated in the "case studies" but one can certainly open up the debate to include other possibilities as well.