California - Capital Punishment

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California - Capital Punishment

Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the oldest prison in the state, and the location of California's only gas chamber and death row.

Music legend Johnny Cash performed a concert for inmates at San Quentin in 1969. During the concert, the song "San Quentin", about an inmate's loathing of his incarceration, received such an enthusiastic response that it was immediately encored.

Execution chamber where lethal injection is used.

Does my state have the death penalty?
Yes, California has executed a total of 13 people since 1976.

What is my governor's position on the death penalty?
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger supports the death penalty.

How many people are on Death Row in my state?
There are currently 648 prisoners on Death Row in California. Of the 648 Death Row prisoners, 233 are black, 251 are white, 130 are Latino, 14 are Native American and 20 are Asian. Of the 648 prisoners on Death Row, 15 of them are women.

Was anyone on Death Row ever found innocent in my state?
Three innocent people were exonerated on Death Row in California. Jerry Bigelow was released in 1988 after serving 8 years, Patrick Croy was released in 1990 after serving 11 years, and Troy Lee Jones was released in 1996 after serving 14 years.

Schwarzenegger allows execution

Thursday January 20, 2005

BNE: Arnold Schwarzenegger finally played real life Terminator earlier today as he allowed the execution of multiple murderer, Donald Beadslee, 61, to be put to death by lethal injection. This is the first California State execution for Arnie and the first in the state in three years. Arnie rejected the pleas for mercy, that commonly surround capital punishment in America, saying Beardslee was fully aware of how serious his crimes were. The Republican governor stated, “The federal courts have affirmed his conviction and death sentence, and nothing in his petition or the record of his case convinced me that he did not understand the gravity of his actions or that these heinous murders were wrong". Beardslee’s defence lawyers, however, tried to get the death penalty overturned on the grounds that he was suffering from brain disorders when he killed two women over a drugs deal in 1981. He had previously served seven years in prison for strangling a woman in 1969, and had been on Death Row since 1984. About 300 protestors staged a vigil outside the infamous San Quentin prison hoping for the last minute reprieve, which never came. California restored the Death Penalty in 1978 and now has the largest Death Row population in America, with over 600 inmates awaiting execution.

Women killers

Jan 1973 to Jun 2009, 8,118 people in US sentenced to death
Of those, 165 were women
Of 1,168 executions, 11 were women
Women commit up to 12% of capital murders

24 September 2010 BBC news:

US woman Teresa Lewis executed for family murders

A 41-year-old woman who conspired to murder her husband and stepson has been executed in the US state of Virginia. Teresa Lewis was the first woman to be put to death in the US for five years and in Virginia since 1912. Lewis, who had learning difficulties, used sex and cash to persuade hitmen to kill her family in 2002. The US Supreme Court and Virginia's governor refused to stop her execution, which took place at 2100 (0100 GMT) at Greensville Correctional Center by lethal injection.

Last hours

Lewis spent her last hours with her spiritual adviser and family members at the prison in the city of Jarratt. She requested a final meal of two breasts of fried chicken, sweet peas with butter, a slice of either German cake or apple pie, and a Dr Pepper soft drink, prison spokesman Larry Traylor said.

As she was escorted into the death chamber, Lewis appeared tearful with her jaw clenched. Shortly before her execution, Lewis asked if her stepdaughter Kathy Clifton, daughter of her murdered husband Julian Lewis, was there. Ms Clifton was in a witness room separated from the execution chamber by a two-way mirror. "I want Kathy to know that I love her and I'm very sorry," Lewis said. Those were her final words.

Clemency plea

On 30 October 2002, Lewis left the door to her family home in the Virginia city of Danville unlocked for gunmen Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller. Lewis's husband Julian, 51, and stepson, Charles Lewis, 25, were later found dead from shotgun blasts.

Lawyers for Lewis filed a petition for clemency on 25 August 2010, but the US Supreme Court refused to intervene. Two of three women in the nine-judge court voted to halt the execution.

Lewis, who has an IQ of 72, claimed that she did not possess the intelligence to have planned the killings, and that new defence evidence proved one of the gunmen manipulated her.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell said medical and psychological reports provided no compelling reason to grant clemency to Lewis, noting she had admitted her role in the killings. Lewis was motivated to hire the gunmen by the desire to inherit her husband's assets and her stepson's life insurance. She paid for the weapons and ammunition used in the murders.

Shallenberger and Fuller were both sentenced to life in prison. Shallenberger committed suicide in 2006. Virginia carries out the second highest number of executions of any state in the US.

WS: “Schwarzenegger allows execution” & “Women Killers”

1.TRUE / FALSE: Are the following statements true or false?

(a) Arnold Schwarzenegger is to star in the movie Terminator 6. T / F
(b) Arnold Schwarzenegger allowed the execution of a convicted killer. T / F
(c) The killer was stoned to death. T / F
(d) This is the fourteenth California State execution for Arnie. T / F
(e) Arnie said the killer knew the difference between right and wrong. T / F
(f) Beardslee’s defence lawyers tried to get the death penalty overturned. T / F
(g) California has always had the Death Penalty. T / F
(h) California has the largest Death Row population in America. T / F

2.SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

(a) / allowed / clemency
(b) / execution / sentence
(c) / murderer / seriousness
(d) / mercy / killer
(e) / conviction / reversed
(f) / gravity / permitted
(g) / heinous / cancellation
(h) / overturned / prisoners
(i) / reprieve / killing
(j) / inmates / despicable

3.PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases based on the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

(a) / multiple / lethal injection
(b) / be put to / a vigil
(c) / death by / overturned
(d) / pleas for / sentence
(e) / death / murderer
(f) / get the death penalty / seven years in prison
(g) / drugs / execution
(h) / He had previously served / mercy
(i) / protestors staged / deal
(j) / awaiting / death

4. DEATH PENALTY METHODS: Talk about the following methods of capital punishment that are used around the world. What are the worst things about each method?

hanging

lethal injection

guillotine

beheading

firing squad

electrocution (electric chair)

stoning

gas chamber

5. QUESTIONS: Discuss the following questions!

(a) Is the Death Penalty deterrent?
(b) Does your society have (want) the Death Penalty?
(c) Do you think it’s strange that the USA has, and enforces the Death Penalty?
(d) What is the most ‘humane’ form of execution?
(e) Which is better, life imprisonment or capital punishment?
(f) On the eve of their execution, inmates can request a final meal. What would you choose?
(g) What must it be like to be the executioner?

6. QUESTIONS: “WOMEN KILLERS”

(a) Can you summarize what Teresa Lewis was convicted for!

(b) What was her alleged motive?

(d) Do you know why it is of vital importance to know the IQ of a person who is about to be convicted?

(e) What happened to the two hitmen?

(f) How did she spend her last hours in prison?

(g) What do you know about female killers (women killers) in America?

7. DEBATE: Prepare for a debate about the following points of view!

(a) All killing is wrong. vs. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
(d) The Death Penalty violates human rights. vs. So does multiple murder.
(e) Mistakes are made. Innocent people die. vs. Hey, no system is perfect.
(f) The Death Penalty gives society the message that killing is OK. vs. No way.
(g) It provides closure for victims’ families. vs. That’s a poor reason to kill someone.

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