Instruction
Question 1: After reading about juries and trials in chapter 12 of your text, offer your ideas for improving the jury trial procedure in the United States. For example, do you believe there are ways to promote more objective decision-making by juries?
Question 2: Lets discuss capital punishment. America is one of the few Western nations using capital punishment, yet our crime rate is higher than that of other nations. How can we justify executing people as a form of punishment?
Question 3: We have the highest prison population on the planet with currently 2.3 million people in prison. We imprison 686 for every 100,000 people. By comparison, China, with a population five times larger than ours, has 1.51 million prisoners for a rate of 117 per 100,000. In fact our prison population has continued to grow even though crime rates dropped. It is easy for politicians to win votes by promising to `get tough on crime`, and this leads to mandatory sentencing and other factors increasing prison population. Who should be sentenced to prison?