CH 13 Flashcards
______ involves the idea that everyone, including lawmakers and presidents, is subject to the legal code of the land.
-The rule of law
-This has been called “the most important legal principle in the world.”
The justification for civil death statutes came from the Thirteenth Amendment. True or False
-True
- The philosophical justification came from the text of the Thirteenth Amendment.
-The philosophical justification came from the text of the Thirteenth Amendment.
State inmates may sue state officials in federal courts regarding their confinement and the conditions of it, a mechanism that is known as ______.
-Section 1983 suits involve state inmates suing state officials in federal courts regarding their confinement and the conditions thereof.
Which case dealt with a First Amendment issue in which a prisoner who was a Black Muslim alleged that he was denied religious publications based on his religion?
The First Amendment guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. True or False
-False
– The Fourth Amendment guarantees the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
-Inmates do not have protections from unreasonable searches and seizures while incarcerated.
-What is considered reasonable inside prison walls is different from what is considered reasonable in the free world.
What is the significance of Wilson v. Seiter?
-The Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment. This case helped define “deliberate indifference” as prison officials turning a blind eye to an obvious risk to an inmate’s health or safety.
The ______ Act states that inmates who claim they cannot afford the filing fee for a lawsuit still need to pay a partial fee.
-The Prison Litigation Reform Act states that inmates who claim they cannot afford the filing fee for a lawsuit still need to pay a partial fee.
This law and one other were passed in 1996 and significantly lowered the number of lawsuits filed by inmates.
The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act restricts inmates’ availability to the right to habeas corpus. True or False
-True
- The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act does not eliminate inmates’ rights to habeas corpus, but it does restrict its availability.
What is arguably the most controversial issue in corrections?
-The death penalty is arguably the most controversial issue in corrections.
The greatest influence on the public’s opinion of the death penalty is its cost. True or False
-False
- The greatest influence on the public’s opinion of the death penalty is the crime rate.
In which case did the Supreme Court rule that the death penalty for rape was unconstitutional?
-The Court decided that the death penalty for rape was unconstitutional in Coker v. Georgia.
-In this case, the inmate escaped from prison, where he was serving time for murder, rape, and kidnapping, and he committed another rape and kidnapping.
What was the first case to challenge the death penalty?
-Furman v. Georgia was the first case to challenge the death penalty.
-In this case, the Court decided that the death penalty, itself, was not unconstitutional. However, the arbitrary way in which it was imposed was.
Research indicates that it is more expensive to incarcerate someone for life than it is to execute someone. True or False
-False
- Research shows that it is more expensive to execute someone.
In California, there is a difference of more than $1 million between the least expensive death penalty prosecution and trial and the most expensive non–death penalty murder prosecution and trial. True or False
-True
- This is true. In California, the difference is $1.1 million.
Black people represent ______ of current U.S. death row inmates.
-Black people make up 42% of current U.S. death row inmates and are therefore overrepresented in both executions and death row inmates.
Recall that Black people are overrepresented by roughly 3 to 1 among death row residents.
