Please advice. 10 points for the best advice. Thank you very much?

Question

I want to write a thesis about Capital Punishment. I would like to prove that race and economic status do influence public support for capital punishment. What do you think of this topic? Please give me some feedback and suggestion.

I am a graduate student. Unfortunately, my university does not emphasize on research---they focus on exams and application.

I want to do a Ph. D; therefore, I need to know how to do an effective research.

Please help. Thank you very much for your kindness.


Sorry for the poor grammar--English is my second language.

Answer 1

If your university does not emphasize research and you plan to do your Ph.D. you will need to learn to do research. See if there are specific course which you can take which will emphasize research and writing skills. Writing is especially important since english is your second language.

Now for your question. The University of Michigan has a good website with links to capital punishment statistics. That may be a good place to start.

http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stsoc.html#capdeath

Best of luck. I hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me if you have additional questions.

Answer 2

I would say that throughout the history of the U.S. the blacks have been, traditionally, given an unfair shake by the justice system. For years, they were thought of as lower class citizens if not lower forms of life and, as a result, their sides of the argument were given less merit. The same was true, to a lesser extent, of the Irish and the Chinese. Additionally, these groups of people were usually far less able to pay for the representation necessary to fairly present their side of the case.
Because of this lopsided weighting in the judicial system, many minorities have been convicted of crimes they did not commit or have received punishments over and above what would be considered just for the nature of their crimes. This has bred a comtempt and distrust of the judicial system as a whole by minorities. When one does not trust the system, one would have a tendency to not want to see the death penalty implemented. The result is too final and, thus, can not be reversed in the event of the later discovery of evidence that would exonerate the defendant.

For research, look into the events in history shortly after the Civil War such as the Jim Crow laws. Also look at the building of the railroads by Chinese workers and the immigration of the Irish after the famine in Ireland. Follow this up with statistical analysis of death penalty cases and then do some research in the psychological aspects of perceived victimhood.

Even though these things are (or, at least, should be) considered history, the families involved most likely hand down stories to their offspring who hand those same stories to theirs and so on. This prolifferates the feelings of distrust even though the system is, today, well on the way to achieving a balance. Certainly, instances of injustice can be found, but, on the whole, we are making marked improvements of the system.

Answer 3

Already answered. But here it is again.

Here are a couple of good sources:

The Death Penalty Information Center. www.deathpenaltyinfo.org
Click on race.

Another: A recent documentary called "Race to Execution" is about differing views of the death penalty, based on race. The home page for this film has links to some very useful sources. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/racet...

Another: Take a look at the Baldus study, on how race affects whether a defendent faces the death penalty. Turns out that the race of the victim is the determining factor- a defendent charged with murdering a white person is much more likely to face the death penalty than if the victim was non white. I believe that you can find a link to this study at the Death Penalty Info Center website.

Economic issues: This is best seen by looking at the quality of defense attorneys. At the Death Penalty Information Center, click on representation.

***Another: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/tost_2.... this is from the Dept of Justice Bureau of Statistics and it may be just what you need.

Also take a look at public opinions, and polls at Death Penalty Info. At least one deals with race.

Answer 4

Im not sure how best to answer your question.

In order to "prove" a relationship between variables, one must state a hypothesis and test it using data and research. Your question is very open ended - what sort of information are you looking for? Comments on capital punishment or advice on conducting research? If its the former, you should know that advertising on a board such as this for "comments" is not true research and data collection. If its the latter, Im shockingly surprised that your program has not prepared you to begin researching this topic. What has your advisor suggested you do to begin ? He/she should be the one to let you know if this topic is appropriate to obtain a PhD in your department.

Where are you attending college and in what department? Are you in a PhD program now or getting a masters? Ive worked in and around graduate programs for over a decade now and your question confuses me.

Answer 5

I believe you have already drawn a conclusion before you have even started your thesis.

Rather than setting out to "prove" a forgone conclusion you should set out to investigate a topic and then draw conclusions from your research.

A more appropriate mindset would be a paper entitled "Race and Economic Status and Their Influence on Support for Capitol Punishment". Do some solid *unbiased* research, and present your conclusions regardless of whether or not they run contrary to your personal feelings on the subject.

Answer 6

If you enter that arena of political choice between life and death please consider, the entire picture.
Class-ism, race, economics, circumstance, evidence, criminal record. The other avenue you may want to exploit is that the medical profession makes this choice every day. They release a impoverished human back to the street because they have a paying customer waiting for that bed.
That is an execution in many cases. You may want to see 60 minutes archives on the story they did. It is, to say the least, a hornets nest.

Answer 7

Ignore "Major Deek"s response he / she doesn't seem too familiar with REALITY.

I think it is a good idea for a thesis. BUT it will need to be supported by ALOT of statistics. Statistics which may not be easy to find and compile. Good Luck.

I would go to government websites...like the Department of Justice. stuff like that. Try to find as many statistics on race and income level as possible. Relate that to mean income per capita in the county / state where the prisoner / prison is located. If you are a grad student, then USE YOUR COMMITEE in search of these statistics and answers. They are there to help you.

Answer 8

On 18 March 2003, two African American men were executed. The two people for whose murder Louis Jones and Walanzo Robinson were killed – Tracie McBride, white, and Dennis Hill, black – were among some half a million people murdered in the USA since 1977. Blacks and whites were the victims of these murders in almost equal numbers.(2) Yet 80 per cent of the people executed since 1977 were convicted of murders involving white victims.

At least one in five of the African Americans executed since 1977 had been convicted by all-white juries, in cases which displayed a pattern of prosecutors dismissing prospective black jurors during jury selection. Louis Jones and Walanzo Robinson, like yet many other black defendants, were sentenced to death by juries made up of 11 whites and one African American. In both cases, as has happened on other occasions, the solitary black juror later alleged that he or she had been singled out for heavy pressure from their fellow jurors in order to get them to change their vote from life to death.

Answer 9

Thai is your mom tongue no longer English in spite of in case you grasp English. A mom tongue by employing definition is the language which you have been immersed into once you have been born, the language spoken by employing the persons who raised you. My mom tongues are French and Creole. French and Creole are my community languages. to boot, I communicate 5 different languages, they do no longer seem to be my mom tongues yet languages that I honestly have found out. you may no longer positioned your community language on a similar point than languages you have found out on your existence ... i do no longer care how reliable you grasp those languages. interior the utility someplace else, you have got the skill to show your languages skills, then point out English as your 2nd language.

Answer 10

I don't have an answer to your question but I applaud your use of the English language.

Your grammar and spelling is better than the majority of what gets posted on this forum.