Watch the documentary 'Into the Abyss' (2011, directed by Werner Herzog). Link to watch it at the bottom. Make sure to read the questions first before watching the film and take detailed notes to facilitate writing your assignment. After watching the documentary, carefully read the following fact sheet regarding the death penalty (based on science and evidence and compiled by a non-partisan NGO). Click on the link bellow: https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/pdf/FactSheet.pdf analyzing and connecting the documentary and class material according to the following (essays will be penalized if submit less than 3 or more than 4 pages, firm): Guidelines 1. a) Explain what is the most interesting or shocking part of the documentary for you and why that is the case. Then describe (b) what was the evidence used by prosecutors to charge and convict the defendants described in the film (include all of it); c) Based on what you have learned in this course about the judicial system, explain if the evidence was enough to convict the defendants beyond reasonable doubt and why that is the case? To earn full credit students must include class material from the course to support your analysis of the evidence and give credit to authors. Explicit and detailed responses will receive full credit. 2. Based on section VII (Sentencing) of our textbook, a) explain in detail what kind of punishment was applied to each of the two defendants and why. Then, b) explain in your own words why there were two different sentencing outcomes if both defendants committed the same crime? (There are no right or wrong answers but provide an informed response. Look at the section how do judges decide? (pp. 321-325) to find and discuss arguments regarding your response to question 2b. You must include ideas and concepts from our textbook to earn full credit for all answers. 3. Next, explain if there are any (a) constitutional issues regarding the death penalty imposed to one of the defendants and (b) why do you think the jury decided to go along and give the death penalty on this case to one defendant but not the other. Apply theories, arguments, and evidence from class material in your analysis.

2 4. After reading the Fact Sheet on the Death Penalty document attached to these guidelines and based on what we have learned so far in class, a) explain what the overall cost of the death penalty in the judicial system is, and why that is the case. Them b) describe what is your stand on the death penalty: do you support it or not and why? There is no right or wrong answer to these questions but be explicit and explain your arguments, and c) provide at least one concrete and specific example (a case or real example from a capital trial known to you) of why or why not you favor or reject the death penalty. 5. Finally, compare the criminal case of this documentary with the criminal case of the first essay (The Memphis Three) and a) explain in detail what are the similarities, and then b) the differences between these two criminal cases in terms of the work done by the criminal justice system overall (police, courts, corrections). Next, c) explain what you learned from this documentary that you did not know before, and d) provide an overall assessment of the criminal case described in the film (what do you think about the trial, sentence, and punishment of the case depicted in this documentary). Support your analysis with facts and evidence, your opinion itself is not enough without adding class material and critical thinking arguments.

video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmyN3QJky7I.

1. Spohn, Cassia; Hemmens, Craig; and McCann, Wesley S. (2019). Courts: A Text/Reader. 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Book reference for examples