Introduction
The death penalty has become an issue in the contemporary justice system, which brings the need to know more about the death penalty. Various reasons are portrayed as to why the death penalty is important and its potential contributions in the justice system (Venturi, 2016). The first reason is that the death penalty is required by justice Venturi, G. C. (2016). In the justice system, there are various cases that will lead to the decision of being a death penalty imposed on an individual. This is because the justice system is involved in dealing with different cases, where some may be more serious offences that may lead to the decision taking place. Hence, the death penalty is a decision that may be reached in the justice system to such cases.
The death penalty is also a symbol of moral order and public authority. Human life is very crucial in every concept of the case, regardless of the criminal offence that an individual has caused. In the justice system, human life should always be expected, and every individual has an equal right to life (Garrett, & Kovarsky, 2018). Therefore, the decision of the death penalty must be morally indefensible. Therefore, as a matter of fact, the decision that results to the death penalty should always be looked into in deep details, to make sure that the justice system is not practising any form of biasness.
The death penalty has various potential contributions to the justice system. First and foremost, it is reducing the level of crimes that occur in a particular country. Establishing a death penalty in the justice system reduces the crime levels simply by eliminating the criminals from the social context. Instead of deciding to hold a person in life imprisonment, one is given a death penalty, which has various benefits as it will help in saving the total costs required (Garrett, 2017). This is because jailing a person for a certain period may result in various circumstances such as running away from the prison, which may contribute to one repeating the same type of crime. It, therefore, implies that the death penalty has reduced the possible causes and level of crimes in society.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
The study rationale was investigating to know the various study questions
- Q1. Does the death penalty help in eliminating crime in the society, especially murder?
- Q2. Do all murders deserve to die?
- Q3. If the death penalty is not acceptable in society, is there any other alternative?
- Q4. Are there any measures that are enacted to prevent discrimination in death sentencing?
- Q5. Are there any cases that innocent people have been mistakenly executed?
- Q6. Is execution a painless punitive form in the justice system?
H1. To determine whether the death penalty is a correct form of eliminating crimes in the society or whether other procedures are more effective that death penalty.
H2. To show the role of the justice system in determining the relevance of the death penalty as a punitive measure in criminal justice such as murder.
Research Design
Surveying
The survey method was used in collecting the data about how the death penalty is applied in the death penalty in the judicial system. The survey includes carrying out research on the historical contexts of cases that relates to the death penalty in the courts. Also, the survey includes the questionnaires which are spread to various individuals and collecting their views regarding the issues of the death penalty.
Questionnaires
The survey should be accompanied by questionnaires. The first part of the survey will look at the cases that have resulted in the death penalty being the decision made in the courts. Hence doing a survey and comparing the data will help to get an insight view of the matter in question. It will help to determine the extent to which the death penalty has been used in the court system. Furthermore, using the questionnaires in the survey will help to make the work to collect information from the individuals easy. Their responses will provide the required information and determine whether they are effective methods of collecting data. Observation from court history may also give an insight into the various cases the court has ever settled, which will help in giving some information.
Direct Interviews
The direct interviews help to get information from the individuals who are chosen in the study. Interviews will involve the stakeholders in the justice system, to respond to various questions that may need to be understood in this particular context. Their information will be used to determine the effectiveness of biasness of the death penalty in the justice system.
Using this particular method will help to get more information from the expertise, which will be an important consideration in the study. This is because the study requires certain information that can only be obtained from people who have experience in the justice system. Hence, direct interviews will be carried out in the courts to collect more information regarding the questions that need to be addressed in the study. The interviews should also target the families or relatives whose family members were executed to analyze how their experience was in court.
Potential Ethical Issues
Ethical issues are an important consideration in this particular study, especially protecting the confidentiality and privacy of individuals who are involved in the study. Therefore, various procedures must be taken to reduce the risks and protect the confidentiality of individuals.
Keep the participants ready
The first procedure is to inform the individual that the study is about getting information, and their names will not be disclosed while giving the results. The information that they will need to give must just be opinions and will be only used for the purpose of the study, not anything else. Doing this will encourage the individuals to open up and be ready to share their minds about what they understand with the death penalty as they will be assured of security.
Use audio in interviews
During the direct interviews, mainly engage the participants in the study using audio means such as phone calls. This will encourage a person to give enough information regarding the issue in the research. Also, using audio does not show the picture of a person, which is a step towards ensuring the confidentiality of an individual. Address the interviews in such a way that the participants involved does not mention the name, but just generalize the information. In the cases of involving the various members of the institutions, it is important to address the issue in a collective manner, such as based on the information collected from various institutions in the United States; it was found that death penalty was not acceptable.
Ask general questions
In the case of using questionnaires, the questions should address the general issues and individuals should be encouraged only to respond to the questions without necessarily indicating their names. This will make the study seem general, and hence no specific individual will be identified as responsible for saying something. By doing this, privacy will be the core value of the research.
Don’t write the report with the names of participants
When picking a sample to study, the information should not also mention the names of those who have participated. General terms such as a sample of a particular number were selected composed of a certain number of males and females. The data results from the population should, therefore, be generally analyzed and related to the sample population but not targeting at the individuals.
