Capital Punishment Discussion Forum

The theme of the first discussion forum in the class is Capital Punishment.

First of all, in order to prepare for this discussion, you should conduct some research on capital punishment in America. Which states still use capital punishment for murderers? Where is capital punishment outlawed? Do statistics prove that there is a correlation between the use of capital punishment and the number of murders in a particular state?

Also keep in mind the following questions:

1. Does the fact that capital punishment is not universally and uniformly administered in the United States argue against its use?

2. Does the fact that only a few countries in the world employ capital punishment provide an argument against it?

3. How do special circumstances ("specials") affect the administration of capital punishment? Do you think that this is fair? Is it saying that a police officer or firefighter is more important than a doctor or a lawyer?