Annotated Bib

Whitney Sullivan October 6, 2009 Wilkerson Annotated Bibliography Capital Punishment: “To kill or not to kill, that is the question”

1."Saving Lives and Money; The Death Penalty." The Economist 14 Mar. 2009: 1-2. Web. LexisNexis. Cooper Library. 30 Sep. 2009
2. Thomas, Evan, Martha Brant, Stuart Taylor Jr, Raina Kelly et al. "Injection Reflection; There's wide support for a death penalty, but those who carry it out are increasingly uncomfortable." Newsweek 19 Nov. 2007: 40. Web. LexisNexis. Cooper Library. 30 Sep. 2009
punishment.” This is an angle that I can use to enhance my argument that I did not previously think of. I will be able to integrate the information and statistics presented in the article to support my claim that capital punishment is morally ignorant and inhumane.

3. "The American Way of Death; A botched execution in Ohio should quicken the end of capital punishment." Editorial. The Times 17 Sep. 2007, 1 ed.: 2. 40. Web. Academic Search Premier. Cooper Library. 24 Sep. 2009. The article focuses on an execution in Ohio in which the technicians had to prolong a man’s execution for two hours to find a sturdy vein. The article also points out that America is the only big democracy that carries out the death penalty. After exploiting these two facts, the author makes the United States seem stuck in the dark ages when it comes to this particular choice of disciplinary action. I will be able to use the argument to show how capital punishment negatively affects the country’s image to other nations. The article relates to “Injection Reflection; There's wide support for a death penalty, but those who carry it out are increasingly uncomfortable” because it brings up the question of whether it abuses the eighth amendment. The main problem is that the author’s sour disposition towards the death penalty combined with the fact that the newspaper is from a capital punishment free country makes the author seem biased.

4. Miller, Karen S. Wrongful Capital Convictions and the Legitimacy of the Death Penalty. New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2006. In the book, Miller analyzes the “Legitimation Crisis” and “Relegitimizing” surrounding the death penalty. The book goes into great detail in how the government and the media portray capital punishment to the public in order to make it seem like a necessary function of the American society. The section of the book that I find the most interesting and will be incorporating information from is the different case summaries in which people were exonerated from death row. I plan on referring to these different case studies to help establish my credibility and explain that the death penalty should be abolished because the chance of murdering an innocent person is too high. The book ties into the articles “Saving Lives and Money; the Death Penalty” and “Injection Reflection; There's wide support for a death penalty, but those who carry it out are increasingly uncomfortable” because they all refer to the fact that there have been innocent people in the past who have been sentenced with the death penalty.

5. Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, Inc, 1993. The book by Kronewetter focuses on different aspects of the argument against capital punishment. The book provides sub chapters that answers questions that many people may have regarding moral issues as well as common questions that are often brought up including, “Does the death penalty really deter crime?” The book also provides historical information regarding the origin and progression of the death penalty. The book goes into different reasons why capital punishment should be abolished which will help me further develop my own argument. I also

plan on utilizing the “Facts and Documents” section that analyzes areas such as the constitution and biblical references to capital punishment. This information will prove to be extremely helpful in all aspects of developing my argument.

6. Foden, Glenn. "Death Penalty-US." CartoonStock. 9 Sep. 2009 http://www.cartoonstock.com/news cartoons/cartoonview.asp? catref=gfon223>. The image depicts a fictional satan’s view of capital punishment. The cartoon makes a statement that the death penalty is morally wrong because it pleases the devil twice as much when a person is sentenced to the death penalty and executed by the state. It creates an argument that killing someone, regardless of how, is murder and murder is against the sixth commandment. The image relies on pathos and evokes a religious sense of responsibility to follow God’s law. I will be able to incorporate this image into my paper and use this to support my argument that capital punishment is morally wrong and defies the Ten Commandments. I can also use the image to refute pro capital punishment articles that rely on biblical references.

7. Luckovich, Mike. "Capital Punishment." CartoonStock. 9 Sep. 2009 . The image depicts a man sentenced to the death penalty attempting to get an appeal. The cartoon judge in the picture is portrayed as being nonchalant to the convict’s plea. The cartoon comments on a different aspect of the argument in which many times, people do not get a fair trial because they are not properly represented. Due to this, the author makes it seem as if they are automatically sentenced to death without proper representation. This is a strong point for my argument because if people accused of these crimes do not receive or can afford good representation, then their chance of being found guilty and sentenced to death row is increasingly higher. I can incorporate this into my paper by explaining how inadequate representation is could possibly send an innocent person to death row.