jedwards19ahsgov-blog

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Our Family

Our flour baby will enter a very kind and supportive household. While my parents are available for babysitting, the family dog will also make the house very interesting. Overall, the environment is very optimal and ideal for any flour baby. 

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Blog Post #9 Works Citied

                                            Works Cited

“What's New.” Millions Misspent: What Politicians Don't Say About the High Costs of the Death Penalty | Death Penalty Information Center, deathpenaltyinfo.org/.

"Capital Punishment Statistics." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). 15 Jan. 2019 <https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=18>.

"Capital Punishment: The end of the death penalty." Time. Time. 15 Jan. 2019 <http://time.com/deathpenalty/>.

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Blog post #8- Civic Action

1. As a citizen in this country, I think the first thing to do in order to fulfill the needs of our community regarding capital punishment, is to have a well rounded understanding of the issue. It’s important to understand both sides of the issue; should the death penalty be legal or illegal? In addition to being informed, if there are any laws or bills passed that involve a vote from the citizens, I think it is very important to take action. On the state ballot, people have been partaking in their civic duty by voting and this is the reason why some states make it legal and others make it illegal. 

2. I learned that there are a lot more things you can do about different civic issues. Firstly, there are a lot of people who don’t take the time to learn about these very important topics. I think all legal citizens should vote if they have the opportunity to.

3. I think the main thing to do is when there are different props and laws on the ballot regarding capital punishment, I need to vote because the results of people’s votes is what laws are applied. 

4. I wrote a letter to Rep. Mark Desaulnier and asked him some questions on his stance on the issue. He replied with his opinion and also some bills and laws he has signed that changed how capital punishment works in California.

Transcripts of the email:

I emailed Rep. Mark Desaulnier about my civic action which is Capital Punishment.

November 29, 2018

Mr. James Edwards

1038 Second Street Apartment 17

Lafayette, CA 94549

Dear James:

Thank you for contacting me regarding capital punishment. I appreciate you taking the time to participate in your government.

While California is one of 33 states that continues to authorize the death penalty, as you know a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional in 2014, and no person has been executed since 2006. You may be interested to know that when I was in the California State Senate I sponsored a bill that would have required a measure to be put before California voters to abolish the death penalty and change existing death sentences with a sentence of life in prison without parole. While this bill passed the State Senate, it was halted in the State Assembly.

There is serious debate about the ability of the death penalty to deter crime, and questions about whether the death penalty should ever be used due to dozens of individuals being exonerated once they have already been executed. Additionally, one of the foundations of our nation is the responsibility of our federal courts to be arbiters of what is and is not constitutional. Should Congress consider legislation with regards to the death penalty, please be assured that I will keep your views in mind.

Again, thank you for contacting me. Good luck at school and I encourage you to continue engaging with your public officials.

Sincerely,

Mark DeSaulnier

Member of Congress

Dear Mr. Desaulnier,

I am a high school senior at Acalanes High School and have to complete a civic action assignment for my US government class. One of my civic action options is to email a representative about an a pertaining issue (which happens to be Capital Punishment.) I would greatly appreciate if you can leave any input or your opinion on some of my questions.

1. Does the Death Penalty deter crime, especially murder?

2. Do victims of violent crime and their families have a right to justice?

3.  What are your thoughts about how on July 16, 2014, a federal judge of the United States District Court ruled that California's death penalty system is unconstitutional?

Any response or input on these questions would be greatly appreciated.

-Thank You

James Edwards

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Executive Action Assessment of Issue

1. Donald trump supports to make stiffer capital punishment laws. He not only wants to enforce the death penalty, bur he also wants enforce the death penalty on crimes not only related to murder. He supports the revival of the death penalty because recently some states have declared it unconstitutional. He overall supports the death penalty and wants to enforce it. 

2. I agree with his stance on this issue to a certain degree because I think the death penalty should be enforced with certain crimes. The state of California haven’t sentenced anyone since 2006 but there are over 700 death row inmates. 

3. The Department of Justice manages this issue. 

4. To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.

5.  The secretary of the department of Justice is Matthew Whitaker.  He served on the Controlled Substances and Asset Forfeiture Subcommittee of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee and “was a member of both the White Collar Crime Subcommittee and the Violent and Organized Crime Subcommittee.” He has a lot of experience in criminal justice so I think he is pretty qualified. He has been in this position since 2004. His experience helps him make good decisions regarding capital punishment in my opinion.

6. The Criminal division is what deals with prosecuting criminals and what punishments are suitable for certain crimes. They enforce the application of criminal laws and implements criminal enforcement policies. 

7. I personally think the executive action taken on this issue doesn’t match with the presidents views on Capital Punishment. Multiple states are declaring the death penalty as unconstitutional when Trump wants to enforce it. I don’t think he would limit funding on this department even though his views conflict. 

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Legislative Action: Blog Post #6

1.

a. Mark  DeSaulnier: He agrees with how California passed a bill saying that the death penalty is constitutional is California. 

b. He signed the bill that made the death penalty unconstitutional in 2014. Judge Carney ruled this in the California district court. 

a.Harris: She has a very fierce opposition to the death penalty. 

b. She did defend the death penalty in Federal Court in 2014.  Harris went to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to urge a reversal of a U.S. District Court ruling that California's death penalty was unconstitutional.

a.Feinstein: She believes capital punishment is unfair. This is contrary to what she used to believe and she completely changed her view on capital punishment. 

b. 9th circuit court of appeals she defended that capital punishment is unconstitutional. 

2.

a. There are 17 bills pertaining to the issue of capital punishment. 

b. Senate Bill #650

c.  Repeals death penalty provisions for a wide range of homicide-related offenses under the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

d. It makes the death penalty not applicable to certain crimes and makes it more difficult for the death penalty to be imposed. 

e. I personally wouldn’t vote for it because I think Capital Punishment cases are very situational and it doesn’t clarify whether or not they prohibit the death penalty as a whole. 

f. No one has passed or even signed the bill; it currently doesn’t seem like it is going anywhere. It was introduced by the senate. 

3.

S: Death Penalty is Unconstitutional

A: Kirk Johnson

C: Washington a few month back followed the 30 plus states that deem the death penalty as unconstitutional. 

A: Anyone that is curious and interested in current events and concerned with politics. 

P: The article is slightly biased in favor of the death penalty because it strongly agrees with Washington saying that the death penalty is unconstitutional. 

S: Now there is probably going to be very few capital punishment executions in Washington because it is considered Unconstitutional but not illegal. 

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State Action Blog Post #5

Baker

a. She endorses repealing the death penalty. Proposition 62 in 2016 which is for repealing the death penalty, is something she supports although it was not passed in 2016.

b. I personally don’t agree with her stance on the death penalty. There wasn’t too much information on her stance on capital punishment but she did support prop 62. I don’t agree with her because I think the death penalty is a viable punishment for some crimes. Although the death penalty doesn’t fix the issue, nothing fixes the issues and for some crime, I think the death penalty is the most just option. 

Glazor

a.There isn’t too much information on his stance about capital punishment or the death penalty and he doesn’t address capital punishment under his issues tab on his website. 

b.I can’t say if I agree or disagree on his stance on this issue because I couldn’t find any information of him addressing this topic. Based on his responses to other issues and that he is very liberal, I assume he is against the death penalty but I’m not exactly sure. 

2.

a.  AB-1541

b.  Approved by the Governor in  September 26, 2017

c.  “ Voir dire of any prospective jurors shall, where practicable, take place in the presence of the other jurors in all criminal cases, including death penalty cases. Examination of prospective jurors shall be conducted only in aid of the exercise of challenges for cause.”

d. I think the bill is something that representatives should pass because I think it would improve the court system and would result in more fair trials.  

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Three Ps Assessment: Parties, Political Interest, Groups, and PACs

1. Brief statement addressing each party

Republican Party: Republican support of the death penalty currently stands at 76% in favor of it. Some excerpts from republican websites include “Much of this support is to help victims of violent crimes” and “We support courts having the option to impose the death penalty in capital murder cases.” 

I somewhat agree with the republican party’s view on the death penalty because it supports the option of the death penalty but also the ability to oppose capital punishment in court. I think the death penalty is needed in certain cases. 

Democratic Party: The Democratic Party considers the death penalty as a form of cruel and unusual punishment. This party believes that capital punishment is unjust and oppose it. 

I don’t agree with the Democratic Party because I think the death penalty is needed in some cases. An example is if a school shooter kills 20 people (An example is the Parkland shooting that happened months ago), I think the death penalty would be the most just punishment. I don’t believe that life in prison without parole is the right thing for these types of crimes that affects so many victims. 

Libertarian Party: “ We oppose the administration of the death penalty by the state.”

I don’t agree with their stance because the death penalty is needed in some crimes. If multiple people commit murder and don’t receive the death penalty, that sets a precedent that people can commit murder without receiving capital punishment which I don’t agree with. 

Green Party:  The green party opposes the death penalty and agree with abolishing it. 

For the same reasons I disagree with the Democratic and Libertarian Party, I also don’t agree with the Green Party’s view on Capital Punishment. 

Peace and Freedom: The Peace and Freedom Party somewhat correlates to what the Green Party supports. They both want to abolish the death penalty.

Since I think that the death penalty is necessary in some cases, I clearly disagree with the Peace and Freedom party because they support abolishing it.

I mostly identify with the Republican party because it’s the only party out of these that don’t want to abolish the death penalty. The Republican party is the only party that supports the death penalty being an option. 

2. Identify 1 national interest group that represents your issue

a. National Coalition to Abolish The death Penalty 

b. “90 million Americans believe the death penalty is wrong. We mobilize them to end the death penalty state by state.”

c. They encourage people to contact the governor about current death penalty cases in any particular state. They want people to be activists against the death penalty. 

Their mission is to abolish the death penalty as a whole and eventually being death penalty to an end worldwide. 

They collect a monthly fee from members and also collect donations to strengthen their movement. 

They have several employees and positions that work to research and gather information to support their claims. 

They list all the upcoming scheduled executions as the main headline on the homepage of their website. 

d. They supported the 7 states over the past decade that has said no to the death penalty. 

e. Their headquarters are located in Washington DC. 

f. Under their volunteer section, they have some people to contact to ask them about volunteer opportunities but they don’t list anything specific. 

g. I’m curious what exactly they do with the money they receive from members and donators?

3. Identify 1 state interest group that represents your issue

a. http://californiapeopleoffaith.org/

b. “California People of Faith Working Against the Death Penalty works to educate and mobilize faith communities to act to abolish the death penalty in California.”

c.  They work closely with Murder Victims Families for Human Rights and Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation.

“we believe that the God/Wisdom of all faiths calls us to something more: a high and often difficult standard of love and forgiveness and justice that is rooted not in retribution but rather in redemption and restoration.”

They don’t think the death penalty will ever be a solution to solve problems in society.

They post a lot of articles that they believe supports their claim that the death penalty is unjust. 

They hold several meetings to support their goals and mission. 

4. Finally, Compare the two interest groups

The National Interest group seems a lot more organized and has a more clear goal. The national interest group also seems a lot more successful because the state group doesn’t accomplish nearly as much. They both target citizens and politicians in order to make a difference toward capital punishment. I thought the state group made no sense when they said the death penalty isn’t a solution to capital punishment but failed to list a better solution. Their guidance counseling to victims families in my opinion seem to have minimal impact. They didn’t really list a solution to or alternative method if the death penalty is removed which made the site a lot less organized than the National group even though they were arguing the same idea. 

5. Choose 1 PAC or Super PAC that pertains to your issue

a. Conservative Political Action Committee

b. “if the courts treated rich and poor equally; if it truly was a deterrent and if everyone that was executed was guilty. But the death penalty is none of those things.”

C. Total Receipts$12,069 Total Spent$12,922

d. Democrats 

e. Some Donators listed 

TAQUEY, ANTONY $250 HOLMAN, WAYNE $250

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Blog Post #3 Constitutional Issues

BLOG POST #3 CONSTITUTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

BLOG POST #3 due Friday October 19 by 8 a.m.—will not be accepted late!

·         All blogs/posts are to be done using your tumblr account

·         Title your post Constitutional Assessment

·         Review oyez.org to assess the precedent established by SCOTUS regarding your civic action issue.  Follow the directions below and answer questions in complete sentences.

·         Go to oyez.org and type in your issue in the search box and click the magnifying glass. For example, if your issue is the legalization of marijuana; type marijuana in the search box.  Several cases will appear (most notable UNITED STATES v. OAKLAND CANNABIS BUYERS’ COOP)

CHOOSE THE MOST RECENT CASE, BUT DO NOT CHOOSE THOSE THAT HAVE NONE UNDER THEIR TITLE—THERE IS NO DESCRIPTION TO ANALYZE.  

1.      What is the name of the case?

2.      The term it was decided?

3.      Briefly summarize the facts of the case.

4.      What is the constitutional question the justices were deciding?

5.      Which constitutional provisions or amendments are in question?

6.      What was the decision?

7.      What precedent does this decision establish?

8.      Do you agree or disagree with the court’s decision? Explain.  

Finally, check your twitter account.  I have been tweeting lots of articles that pertain to student issues.  Scroll through my list of tweets and review an article that is specific to your issue. If there are none that pertain to your issue, you may find one from a reputable on-line source.

SACAPS—what is the subject of the article? Who is the author? What is the context? Who is the intended audience? What is the bias and perspective of the author? What is the significance of the article? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?

_______________________________________________________________________Blog Post #3 Constitutional Issues

1. Ring V. Arizona 2002

2. Case was held Apr 22, 2002 and was decided in June 24, 2002. 

3. The court found Timothy Ring guilty for committing a felony murder during an  armed robbery. According to the Arizona State Laws, he can’t be charged with the death penalty. They conducted that it was a felony murder and not a  premeditated murder so he could face the death penalty. 

4. “the Sixth Amendment does not permit a defendant to be "exposed...to a penalty exceeding the maximum he would receive if punished according to the facts reflected in the jury verdict alone”. Wouldn’t this conflict with the 6th Amendment that gives a right to an impartial jury?

5. Arizona’s policies during 2002 may infringe the constitutional right of the 6th Amendment. 

6. The SCOTUS had a 7-2 decision to not give him the death penalty.

7.  The case shows how the 6th Amendment protects some convicted criminals from the death penalty if there isn’t enough evidence. 

8. It’s hard to tell whether I agree or disagree because oyez.com doesn’t provide all the evident on the case so I’m not sure on all the details. Considering that 7 people on the SCOTUS declared there wasn’t enough evidence, I would most likely agree. 

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2001/01-488

SACAPS: Washington State Supreme Court Deems Death Penalty Unconstitutional

Subject: Washington State Supreme Court says 

Author: Kirk Johnson 

Context: Washington became the latest state to end the death penalty. They haven’t executed someone since 2010 and finally ruled it as cruel. There is currently 8 men in Washington who are on death row who wont receive the death penalty. 

Audience: Anyone that is interesting on the topic of capital punishment.

Perspective: The New York Times are slightly biased toward removing the death penalty because they really support Washington completely getting rid of it. 

Significance: Washington not having the death penalty anymore is a huge stepping stone for people that are against the death penalty. It puts the country one step further into making it a less common practice in America. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/11/us/death-penalty-ruling-washington-state.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FCapital%20Punishment&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

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Media Assessment Of Issue

Liberal News Source: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/we-already-know-whats-wrong-with-the-death-penalty/361635/ ~The Atlantic 

“The Problems With the Death Penalty Are Already Crystal Clear“

This article claims that the death penalty should be removed because it’s racially disparate, geologically arbitrary, and is based on the criminal’s economic status. Andrew Cohen wrote this article and he has written for several relatively reputable news outlets such as CBS. He wrote this article on May 5th, 2018. Mostly people that are against the death penalty would be interested in reading this, however, the article is intended for anyone to read. I would say the article is pretty biased but provides some decent evidence in supporting their claim. I disagree with their points relating to how the death penalty should be removed because of how most people have mental illnesses, poor financial situations, and are abused. In my opinion, the people are still accountable for their actions and need to be punished the same way anyone else would. Despite people that get the death penalty usually being poor or mentally ill, everyone need to have consequences for their actions. The article supported their claim by listing flaws with how the government go about capital punishment. 

Conservative Media Bias: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/293995-california-must-preserve-the-death-penalty-with-some-reforms ~The Hill

“California must preserve the death penalty, with some reforms”

The article talks about how there are several flaws with how the death penalty works, however it still should be a part of society and be preserved. Anne Marie Schubert who is a district attorney wrote this article on August 31, 2016. She wrote this article for the people and citizens. I think the article is slightly subjective but the least biased out of the three articles because it provides details from both sides of the political spectrum. She admits the flaws in the capital punishment system however provides evidence on why it should stay. She stated, “Currently, there are 746 killers sitting on California’s death row. These inmates have brutally murdered more than 1000 victims, including 226 children and 43 police officers” and she also stated “death penalty reform, is deeply flawed (The Hill). She mentions the flaws but also the reasons why the death penalty should be preserved. She provides evidence by utilizing statistics.

Impartial Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/31/opinion/capital-punishment-death-penalty.html ~The New York Times 

“Capital Punishment Deserves a Quick Death“

The article is highlighting the idea that the death penalty is a cruel and pointless punishment and is shifting to become geographically isolated. Pretty much they are saying how it’s not a common punishment which is mostly practiced in Texas and Arkansas. The article isn’t written by a single author but is written by The New York Times editorial Board which consists of about 10 people. The authors have a variety of expertise and different opinions. The article was published on December 31, 2017 in New York. The New York Times wrote this article for anyone who wanted to be informed on the Death Penalty. The writing is subjective because it is put under the opinion section in their website. The people writing the article are slightly biased against the death penalty because they only focused on the negatives. The authors used a particular incident when the death penalty procedure was faulty as well as statistics of where the majority of capital punishment take place.

The three articles were similar in the sense where all three had slight bias. They were all presenting their opinion on the death penalty. Also, the articles were all pretty convincing in terms of proving their claim. 

I identify myself mostly with the article from The Hill for a couple of reasons. I agree the death penalty is an important part in the justice system but also think there are several flaws in how capital punishment works. I think The Hill news article was the closest to what I would identify with. 

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Conceptualizing The Issue and Addressing Types of Action

1. What Civic action issue did I choose? 

I chose my project to be on the death penalty reform because it’s a very controversial and relevant current issue. 

2. Why is it an issue? 

The death penalty has caused a lot of controversy because many people disagree with the current Capital Punishment Laws. People struggle to agree upon whether or not the death penalty is a just punishment and a viable option to deal with the worst criminals. There’s two stances regarding this problem; there’s a group of people that believes capital punishment is a necessary part in society, and there’s another group of people that think it is inhumane and too cruel. There’s several flaws in how capital punishment works which causes issues. 

3. What action do you think needs to be taken to address this issue?

Personally, I think the death penalty is needed in society to act as a deterrent from people committing serious crimes. Obviously, it hasn’t done the best job considering how many people commit terrible crimes. An issue with capital punishment is how a handful of people that received the death penalty, were later proven innocent after their death. Another reason why people want to reform the death penalty is because it’s too harsh of a punishment in some people’s opinion. To address the issue of the death penalty being too harsh or inhumane, I think prison’s should strictly limit their penalty methods to only lethal injection. Lethal injection is the most common form of capital punishment however there are still other methods used in the death penalty. If I think the death penalty is enforced, the only method that should be used is by lethal injection. To address the issue with innocent people being killed, capital punishment should only be used in cases where is is 100% hard evidence that proves the criminal guilty. There’s too many instances where innocent people get killed (at least 4%). There should also be a set list crimes where people receive the death penalty otherwise people that do the exact same crime receive different punishments which is unfair. There needs to be consistency in what kind of crimes are deserving of the death penalty. 

4. I’m following president Trump because he makes a good amount of political decisions in the United States. I also followed some prison reform groups to get more insight and knowledge on the issue. There’s also a couple of general news stations I followed just to stay updated on current events and news.