Online Student Resource File:
Capital Punishment LSCJ 4700
OU College of Professional and Continuing Studies
by Bryan L. Dupler, J.D.
Updated August, 2017
Required text
Banner, S. (2003). The Death Penalty: An American History. Harvard Press, ISBN-10: 0674010833, ISBN-13: 0-674-01083-3.
Important Notice!
This online student internet resource file contains hyperlinks to all the necessary resources for completion of your assignments. These resources are furnished to you due to your limited exposure to legal research, and to permit you additional time for study rather than wasted hours searching for proper sources. Reading assignments for each unit from the Banner text, chapter highlights written by me, additional enrichment resources, and the current due dates for assignments can still be found on the OU/D2L course website for each unit.
Professor Availability
The professor will be available via e-mail to students.
Grades
Grade will be based on a percentage of 400 possible points, consisting of three unit tasks (30 points each), three course spanning assignments (30 points each), and a course spanning research paper (120 points). Students are also required to meaningfully participate in online discussions (100 points) as part of this course.
Required Work and Resources
Each student will select either Research Project Option # 1 or Research Project Option # 2. The topic and source materials for each project are provided below. Neither the title, nor the subject matter of the project, can be changed by the student. However, the written text and major subject headings in your paper are up to you.
Unit Writing Assignments
In each unit, you will complete a written assignment using the Online Student Internet Resource File. Written assignments for Units One through Three are worth 30 points each. Links to samples of each writing assignment for this course are provided below!
Course Spanning Tasks
In addition to unit tasks, the student will complete a course spanning project with assigned tasks in each unit, using the Online Student Internet Resource File. Course spanning tasks will be completed and turned in along with the unit assignments. Course spanning tasks in Units One through Three are worth thirty (30) points each. The final course spanning task for Unit Four will be a 10 to 15 page paper, worth the remaining 120 possible points.
Research Project Option # 1
Assigned paper title:
“Eighth Amendment exemptions from the death penalty and life without parole”
The topic of the paper, and its title, are selected by the instructor. Your paper should cover the entire topic as introduced in the assigned title, using the resource materials provided here below!
Cases and articles
U.S. Constitution, Amendment VIII
U.S. Supreme Court cases
Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977) (rape of adult victim)
Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986) (the insane)
Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002) (the intellectually disabled)
Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005) (the juvenile murderer)
Kennedy v. Louisiana, 128 S.Ct. 2641 (2008) (child rape)
Graham v. Florida, 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010) (life without parole for juveniles in non-homicides)
Miller v. Alabama, 132 S.Ct. 2455 (2012) (mandatory life without parole in homicide cases)
Scholarly Articles
Research Project Option # 2
Assigned paper title:
"Lethal Injection, nitgrogen hypoxia, and the Eighth Amendment analysis of execution methods: A 21st Century Crisis."
The topic of the paper, and its title, are selected by the instructor. Your paper should cover the entire topic as introduced in the assigned title, using the resource materials provided here below!
Cases and articles
U.S. Constitution, Amendment VIII
U.S. Supreme Court cases
Baze v. Rees, 128 S.Ct. 1520 (2008)
In Re Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 (1890)
Wilkerson v. Utah, 99 U.S. 130 (1879)
Articles
Feldman, "Nothing less than the dignity of man" (2015).
Inmate coughs, heaves during Alabama execution raising ire over drug (December 9, 2016)
Course Assignments and Tasks by Unit
Unit 1
Unit 1 discussion assignment
Please review a brief synopsis of the major arguments for and against the death penalty, and some supporting testimony, here. Then, post a short introduction of yourself to me and your classmates, and include the following:
- Whether you currently support or oppose capital punishment, or are undecided;
- Your strongest reason (the one most important to you) for your support, opposition, or indecision; and,
- Something that you’ve wondered about capital punishment and how you hope this course may help you to understand it.
Read the posts of your fellow classmates and post at least two brief responses to any posts you choose.
Unit 1 written assignment and course spanning task (these are combined for this unit)
After reading the assigned materials (at the end of the unit), read and prepare case briefs for the Supreme Court cases linked to your Research Project in the Online Student Internet Resource File:
Each case brief must include:
- a procedural statement describing how the case reached the court, and from where;
- a statement of relevant facts;
- a statement of the relevant issue presented to the court for decision on appeal;
- a statement of the court's holding, or ruling, on the issue presented;
- a statement of the legal authorities relied on and the rationale of the decision;
- the final disposition of the case on appeal.
A link to a sample case brief with detailed instructions is provided below. You are instructed to follow this format closely. Place the best ONE of these case briefs, and ONLY one, in the appropriate dropbox.
Unit 2
Unit 2 discussion assignment
Please post your thoughts on the following subject. Read the posts of your classmates and leave 2 written responses to those posts. You may also ask any question unanswered by the readings! If you are going to disagree, practice expressing your views in a respectful way, and give your audience the facts which support your opinion on the issues.
Even today, many abolitionists argue against the death penalty on the grounds that life imprisonment without parole is a harsher punishment. Is this contradictory or insincere? Are abolitionists actually in favor of harsher punishments than those who favor the death penalty? Are death penalty proponents more humane and concerned about the criminal than abolitionists?
Unit 2 written assignments
Using your Online Student Resource File, prepare a preliminary thesis and a subject outline of your final research paper on the Research Project you have chosen. Please consult the sample thesis and outline provided in your Online Student Internet Resource File. Place the assignment in the appropriate dropbox.
Unit 2 course spanning task
Using your Online Student Resource File, prepare an annotated bibliography containing the Supreme Court cases and articles provided in your Research Project. Your annotated bibliography should closely follow APA format and style. Sample annotations are provided in your resource file. Each annotation in your bibliography should be no less than 50 words and not more than 300 words. Place the assignment in the appropriate dropbox.
Unit 3
Unit 3 discussion assignment
Please write a discussion post on at least one of the following subjects. Read the posts of your classmates and leave 2 written responses to those posts. You may also ask any question unanswered by the readings!
What are your thoughts about the various historic and modern methods of execution? Which methods appear more or less humane, more or less painful to you? Should a method of execution always seek to inflict the least amount of pain or suffering? Why or why not? What methods of execution have the Supreme Court ever declared unconstitutionally cruel and unusual?
Unit 3 written assignments
Using your Online Student Resource File, prepare two (2) case expositions of approximately 250 to 500 words from a Supreme Court case provided in your Research Project. A case exposition is a formal and substantially complete discussion of a legal case as authority within a larger work. Several examples of case exposition are shown in the sample APA research paper provided in your Resource File. Further explanation of case exposition can be found below. Place the assignment in the appropriate dropbox.
Unit 3 course spanning task
Using your Research Project sources and prior written assignments, prepare a rough draft of your final APA formatted research paper. Your rough draft should contain a thesis statement or statement of the research problem and a substantial part of your supporting discussion, including exposition and synthesis of relevant cases, articles, and statutes, as well as a draft of your References page in APA format. Closely consult the sample APA research paper provided in your Online Student Internet Resource File. Place the assignment in the appropriate dropbox.
Unit 4
Complete the online Evaluation Survey for this course. I'm not even joking! Your input is important. Please take a few minutes to complete the evaluation for each course you complete this semester. Your feedback and suggestions help the college continuously improve our course content and delivery. Thank you for taking time.
Unit 4 discussion assignment
Please write a discussion post on the following subject. Read the posts of your classmates and leave 2 written responses to those posts. You may also ask any question unanswered by the readings!
What is your reaction to the evolving standards of decency test used by the Supreme Court to strike down so many statutes authorizing capital punishment? Is the test anti-democratic or democratically oriented? If society has really evolved to a particular standard of decency, why does the Supreme Court need to intervene anyway? Is the test actually a ruse for elites to impose their will on popularly elected legislatures? Are Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008) and Miller v. Alabama (2012) obvious examples of the potential to abuse that power and thwart the popular will, or examples of the proper application of the “evolving standards” test?
Unit 4 written assignment and course spanning tasks (combined)
Using your Online Student Resource File, prepare and turn in your final research paper. Your paper should be 8 to 15 pages in length in APA format, excluding the cover page and reference page. It must contain:
- a statement of the thesis or the research problem;
- a supporting discussion, including exposition and synthesis of the relevant cases, articles, and statutes;
- major subject headings that organize your paper in a logical format;
- citations to all source materials, both within the text of your paper as required by APA citation rules, as well as a References page citing all sources in APA format (cite cases in your text by following the citation resource in this file and examples in the research paper).
Place the assignment in the appropriate dropbox.