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Capital Punishment State Laws

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Is it fair to leave capital punishment up to individual states?

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Capital punishment state laws are examined.

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The reason capital punishment decisions by individual states are 'fair' lies within the constitution. The constitution, when written, mandated that individual states had the right to regulate laws within their individual states. Therefore, this state sovereignty is at the heart of why individual states have the autonomy to either employ the use of the death penalty or outlaw its use as such. The laws that permit these decisions are also intertwined with the fact that the Supreme Court has deemed the practice to not be cruel and unusual punishment.

If the Supreme Court of the United States outlawed capital punishment then individual states would have to respect this decision as if the federal legislation or Congress passed a bill outlawing the practice. Because no Congressional bill has been passed barring the use of capital punishment for 'competent adult' offenders, the states have the constitutional right to individually decide if they want to use the death penalty. The United States constitution was written to ensure state rights. These inalienable rights authorize that states can pass laws ...

Solution provided by:
Raushaun Rigsby, MSc
Education
  • Associates of Arts , Lone Star Community College
  • Bachelor of Science , Sam Houston State University
  • Masters of Science, Kaplan University
  • Masters of Science , Kaplan University
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