POLI 203 Final

Question 1

How does the death penalty system established in Texas after Furman (1972) differ from those established in other states?

Answer 1

In Texas, juries consider a set of ‘special circumstances,’ including ‘future dangerousness’ when deciding on the death sentencing. Other states follow a system of mitigating and aggravating factors in considering death sentencing.

Question 2

What is the Marshall Hypothesis?

Answer 2

An argument made by Justice Marshall positing that support for the death penalty would decrease if the public had greater knowledge of the facts surrounding the death penalty.

Question 3

What makes a jury ‘death qualified’?

Answer 3

That members of the jury are capable of sentencing a person to death, but not destined to do so, nor destined not to do so.

Question 4

True or False: The nation’s homicide ‘hot spots’ are NOT where the executions are concentrated.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

The states of __________ and _________ established death penalty systems with mandatory death sentencing schemes. The Supreme Court ruled that these systems were unconstitutional.

Answer 5

North Carolina and Louisiana

The Supreme Court ruled that these systems were unconstitutional.

Question 6

Which statement most accurately describes the ‘guilt’ phase in the bifurcated trial process?

Answer 6

The burden of proof is on the state to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.

Question 7

In which decade did homicides peak in the United States?

Answer 7

1990’s

Question 8

What regions of the country have the highest homicide rates?

Answer 8

The Mississippi Delta and the Mid-Atlantic Corridor

Question 9

Select all that apply: Which of the following are grounds for appealing a death sentence ruling?

Answer 9

Suppressed or newly discovered evidence, ineffective assistance of counsel, false instructions to the jury

Question 10

Capital trials typically involve a process whereby:

Answer 10

The district attorney informs the court that they intend to seek death.

Question 11

In what case did the Supreme Court ignore statistical evidence demonstrating disproportionate death sentencing based on the race of the offender and the victim?

Answer 11

McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)

Question 12

What was the central finding from the 2014 study by John Donahue titled ‘An Empirical Evaluation of the Connecticut Death Penalty since 1973’?

Answer 12

That the egregiousness of the crimes committed does not predict who gets a death sentence.

Question 13

True or False: There is little difference in the rate of homicide per population in executing and non-executing states.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

In the wake of a homicide, the death penalty is most likely to be imposed if the victim is a ______________.

Answer 14

White female.

Question 15

What group did the Court decide was ineligible for the death penalty in Atkins v. Virginia (2002)?

Answer 15

Those with severe intellectual deficiencies.

Question 16

If ______________ were a state it would rank second in executions after Texas.

Answer 16

Harris County, TX (Houston).

Question 17

True or False: There is a strong correlation between high homicide rates and high execution rates.

Answer 17

False

Question 18

Why are death sentences geographically concentrated?

Answer 18

Some jurisdictions are more likely to seek death.

Question 19

Which of the following is the most common aggravating circumstance across states in the US?

Answer 19

Defendant criminal history.

Question 20

After being sentenced to death and placed on death row, the most common disposition (final outcome) is ______________:

Answer 20

to have the death sentence vacated on appeal (overturned) and replaced with life in prison.

Question 21

Which statement applies most clearly and completely to our speaker Kristine Bunch?

Answer 21

She had to study the arson manual herself in order to help in her own innocence pleadings.

Question 22

Focusing on finalized cases, about ______________ percent of defendants who are sentenced to death are actually executed.

Answer 22

25%

Question 23

In the post-Furman period, ______________ has executed a higher percentage of the inmates sentenced to death than any other state.

Answer 23

Virginia

Question 24

The Supreme Court case challenging the constitutionality of long delays in the period between a death sentence and an eventual execution was:

Answer 24

Lackey v. Texas (1995)

Question 25

The increase in time from crime to execution stems from:

Answer 25

lengthier appeals.

Question 26

The death penalty system is self-reinforcing, meaning that:

Answer 26

Counties that imposed capital punishment more in the past are more likely to impose it in the future.

Question 27

The only state that has not seen a dramatic rise in the time from crime to execution is:

Answer 27

Virginia

Question 28

True or False: Chris Ochoa might well have been executed if he had not plead guilty and avoided the death penalty.

Answer 28

True

Question 29

A De-facto abolitionist state is a state that ______________.

Answer 29

has the death penalty as a legally valid form of punishment however it is never imposed.

Question 30

Which demographic characteristics of a homicide case render the death penalty the most likely?

Answer 30

White offender kills white female victim.

Question 31

______________ has been the most common method of execution in U.S. history.

Answer 31

Hanging

Question 32

______________ and ______________ over whether alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) would be used to execute inmates, as neither wanted his new electrical system to be thought of as dangerous.

Answer 32

Edison and Westinghouse

Question 33

Black inmates are overrepresented among those exonerated from death row.

Answer 33

True

Question 34

True or false: In Herrera v Collins, the Supreme Court stated that the constitution prohibits the execution of the innocent.

Answer 34

False

Question 35

Which of the following is the most common contributing factor to wrongful convictions in death penalty cases?

Answer 35

Official misconduct

Question 36

What is not an existing or potential legal challenge to lethal injection?

Answer 36

Official recognition that the paralyzing agent in the cocktail serves no public purpose.

Question 37

Of all the exonerations from death row in the modern era, most are based on DNA evidence.

Answer 37

False

Question 38

Among the following methods of execution, ______________ has the highest chance of being botched.

Answer 38

Lethal injection

Question 39

True or false: Our speaker Chris Ochoa experienced lies from police investigators.

Answer 39

True

Question 40

Our speaker Chris Turner was one of several young men from the neighborhood arrested for a terrible crime. Which of the following is true?

Answer 40

None of the above

Question 41

A 'stay of execution' is a delay so that legal issues can be resolved.

Answer 41

True

Question 42

In ______________, the Supreme Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute the intellectually disabled (at the time of the ruling the Court used the term mentally retarded).

Answer 42

Atkins v. Virginia

Question 43

The IQ threshold for intellectual disability is ______________.

Answer 43

Less than or equal to 70

Question 44

When was the last execution in North Carolina?

Answer 44

2006

Question 45

'Death Row Syndrome' refers to:

Answer 45

The mental effects of an inmate knowing they could be executed at any time.

Question 46

Which is NOT considered as part of the four-part test for granting a stay of execution?

Answer 46

The length of time the inmate has spent on death row.

Question 47

true or false: The US Supreme Court has ruled that mental illness and intellectual disability are mitigating factors that render the defendant less culpable and therefore less deserving of the death penalty.

Answer 47

True

Question 48

In every state, a death warrant must be issued by the Governor, and only the Governor, for an inmate to be executed.

Answer 48

False

Question 49

Ford v. Wainwright holds that:

Answer 49

Executing someone who is incompetent to understand the punishment is cruel and unusual.

Question 50

State moratoria on executions:

Answer 50

A and B but not C (Put a stay on all current death warrants, prevent additional death warrants from being signed, NOT must be reviewed by the Supreme Court)

Question 51

What are the most common reasons Americans give for supporting the death penalty?

Answer 51

Retribution and deterrence.

Question 52

When did the number of Americans supporting the death penalty peak?

Answer 52

1994

Question 53

Where does public opinion on the death penalty stand according to the most recent polls?

Answer 53

At its lowest point since the Furman decision (1972).

Question 54

Why is it hard to draw clear scientific conclusions regarding the effects of the death penalty on homicide rates (e.g., deterrence)?

Answer 54

Both A and B.

Question 55

Which of the following is a suggestion made by the NRC about conducting research on whether the death penalty deters?

Answer 55

The death penalty needs to be compared against the alternative of LWOP rather than no punishment.

Question 56

Which of the following is one factor influencing the Court’s determination of 'evolving standards of decency'?

Answer 56

State-level laws.

Question 57

Over the long scope of American history, use of the death penalty has largely:

Answer 57

Remained rare, but increasingly focused only on homicides rather than a broader range of crimes including adultery, horse stealing, and some others that were once punishable by death

Question 58

The Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) that ____

Answer 58

The execution of a mentally disabled person is cruel and unusual punishment.

Question 59

The Court’s rulings in Atkins (2002) and Roper (2005) were grounded in ____.

Answer 59

Evolving standards of decency and the 8th amendment.

Question 60

true or false: Since 2000, more state laws have restricted the use of the death penalty than expanded it.

Answer 60

True

Question 61

Death sentences are issued in _____ percent of homicides.

Answer 61

1.08

Question 62

The typical state carries out ___ executions in a year.

Answer 62

1

Question 63

Even before the Court’s ruling in Furman the use of the death penalty has always been concentrated in the South.

Answer 63

False

Question 64

true or false: The killers of white female victims are most likely to get the death penalty, and Black men who kill white women are significantly more likely to receive death.

Answer 64

True

Question 65

true or false: The Supreme Court is likely to decide that the death penalty does not meet 'evolving standards of decency' since most Americans indicate that they do not support the death penalty when asked.

Answer 65

False

Question 66

The top executing states in the period from 1900 through 1972 were:

Answer 66

New York, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.

Question 67

Which is the most important reason why jurors often do not accurately reflect local opinions on the death penalty?

Answer 67

Death qualification.

Question 68

Executions are the outcome of a death sentence ___ percent of the time (pick closest number).

Answer 68

16

Question 69

An execution is most likely to be carried out if the homicide occurred in _____

Answer 69

Houston, Texas.

Question 70

Which of the following commonly used factors improves on the goal of making sure the death penalty is 'narrowly targeted' at only a certain class of crimes:

Answer 70

Crime victim was an active duty peace officer.

Question 71

How many cases of wrongful conviction involve no crime to begin with?

Answer 71

¼

Question 72

Which of the following is the most important predictor of death sentences in a year?

Answer 72

The tone of media coverage.

Question 73

Why was the electric chair first considered for use as an execution method in the U.S.?

Answer 73

Recommendation by the New York Death Penalty Commission after a series of botched hangings.

Question 74

Which of these methods of execution has the highest botch rate in the U.S.?

Answer 74

Lethal injection.

Question 75

Which of the following is NOT an existing or potential legal challenge to lethal injection?

Answer 75

Inhumaneness and superficiality of the paralyzing agent in the cocktail.

Question 76

According to Jason Hurst, what is one way in which restorative justice is limited by existing practices?

Answer 76

Defense attorneys discourage their clients from discussing responsibility and emotions.

Question 77

What is a commutation for a death-sentenced individual?

Answer 77

The conviction stands, but their sentence is reduced to a lesser one.

Question 78

The first Supreme Court case to challenge the constitutionality of long delays in the period between a death sentence and an eventual execution was:

Answer 78

Lackey v. Texas (1995)

Question 79

Reversals most commonly result from:

Answer 79

The sentence being overturned.

Question 80

Under these statutes, an individual who was not the triggerman but was party to the crime can receive a death sentence.

Answer 80

Felony murder.

Question 81

Which of the following is the most common contributing factor to wrongful convictions in death penalty cases?

Answer 81

Official misconduct.

Question 82

Which speaker spoke about his cross country Greyhound bus ride?

Answer 82

Chris Turner.

Question 83

Which speaker spoke about his experience testifying against a codefendant?

Answer 83

Chris Ochoa.

Question 84

Which speaker spoke about the deep racism in their Virginia county?

Answer 84

Marvin Anderson.

Question 85

In what year did Ronnie Long, who came to class with attorney Jamie Lau, go to prison?

Answer 85

1976.

Question 86

Which speaker was the boxer who survived more than 10 years in Angola prison, Louisiana?

Answer 86

Isaac Knapper.

Question 87

Which speaker's case was known as the '8th and H crew' case?

Answer 87

Chris Turner.

Question 88

Were all of the speakers invited to class officially exonerated?

Answer 88

No, somewhere innocent and it was recognized but they were nonetheless still not legally exonerated.

Question 89

Who deserves the most credit for popularizing the phrase 'Super-predator'?

Answer 89

John DiIulio.

Question 90

According to Eberhardt et al. ('looking deathworthy'), black defendants with higher perceived 'stereotypicality' have:

Answer 90

Higher rates of receiving a death sentence at the penalty phase, but only if they have a white victim.

Question 91

NC's Racial Justice Act:

Answer 91

Was effectively repealed as soon as the majority switched from D to R.

Question 92

The current NC death penalty statute:

Answer 92

Is broad because it includes felony murder.

Question 93

Of the first 100 death sentences imposed in the US after Furman:

Answer 93

40 were in NC.

Question 94

In what years did the following reforms happen: Prosecutorial Discretion and Creation of centralized Indigent Defense Services?

Answer 94

2001.

Question 95

NC's 1979 State v. Johnson ruling said:

Answer 95

No plea-bargains to avoid death.

Question 96

The three periods of the NC death penalty are:

Answer 96

Pre-Woodson; 2 Woodson to DA Discretion; 3 Since then.

Question 97

Who lobbied for the RJA?

Answer 97

Darryl Hunt, Bo Jones, Ed Chapman, and Jonathan Hoffman.

Question 98

The first _____ executions in NC in the modern period were all White offenders.

Answer 98

11.

Question 99

Under Batson v. Kentucky:

Answer 99

Prosecutors may not use preremptory strikes against black prospective jurors, unless they give a reason.

Question 100

The 2009 Racial Justice Act:

Answer 100

Was passed strictly on a party-line vote.