Crime and punishment in the USA

Today’s posting is only loosely related to core material in the US government and politics syllabus, though there is a point to be made about how well America’s governing institutions protect civil liberties. But I thought I’d include this story as part of the general background and context of the USA. For many Europeans, the use of the death penalty as the toughest punishment for the most serious crimes seems somewhat barbaric. In fact, it is official EU policy to “strongly oppose the death penalty in all circumstances”. But support for the death penalty is high in America, and polls show a majority support even in cases where theoretically 1 in 10 of those executed could subsequently be found innocent.

Approximately 1200 prisoners have been executed since 1976, with around a third taking place in Texas alone. So the death penalty isn’t particularly “unusual”, if we are to borrow the phrase from the 8th Amendment.

What doesn’t happen very often, however, is the execution of a female prisoner. In fact, as the Guardian reports today, the state of Virginia (the second busiest state at ending the life of prisoners) has not executed a woman for nearly a 100 years.

But unless Teresa Lewis receives a stay of execution from the Supreme Court this week, Virginia will conduct its first execution of a female prisoner since 1912, and it will be the first female executed in America for five years.

See the full story here.

There is also an interesting piece by crime writer John Grisham in the Washington Post on this.