Individual Presentation or Panel Title
Capital Punishment: The Enigma of Value Judgments and Party Politics
Abstract
Overwhelmingly, people asked whether or not they supported the death penalty during the 2008 election cycle declared their strong favor of its continuance. The number of those who are opposed to the death penalty is drastically lower than those in opposition to other seemingly liberal issues. I will identify why the death penalty garners less support by liberal voters than other typically left-wing concerns. My paper will hypothesize that the death penalty is not as supported by liberal voters because, unlike other popular social issues, voters are unable to truly personalize and relate to death row inmates. My methodology for this paper involves using the SETUPS data concerning the death penalty and the 2008 election as well as an analysis of relevant scholarly articles. Why is this not a super polarized issue? Why do people hotly contest abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action but the death penalty gets barely any attention? Shouldn’t people have strong convictions about whether or not the state has a right to end someone’s life? When every single developed nation has outlawed the death penalty – what makes America not only keep it legal, but not even debate the issue that often? This paper isn’t about whether or not the death penalty is right or wrong, but about why it isn’t a hot button issue in American politics.
Location
Camp Younts
Start Date
21-4-2012 2:30 PM
End Date
21-4-2012 3:20 PM
Capital Punishment: The Enigma of Value Judgments and Party Politics
Camp Younts
Overwhelmingly, people asked whether or not they supported the death penalty during the 2008 election cycle declared their strong favor of its continuance. The number of those who are opposed to the death penalty is drastically lower than those in opposition to other seemingly liberal issues. I will identify why the death penalty garners less support by liberal voters than other typically left-wing concerns. My paper will hypothesize that the death penalty is not as supported by liberal voters because, unlike other popular social issues, voters are unable to truly personalize and relate to death row inmates. My methodology for this paper involves using the SETUPS data concerning the death penalty and the 2008 election as well as an analysis of relevant scholarly articles. Why is this not a super polarized issue? Why do people hotly contest abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action but the death penalty gets barely any attention? Shouldn’t people have strong convictions about whether or not the state has a right to end someone’s life? When every single developed nation has outlawed the death penalty – what makes America not only keep it legal, but not even debate the issue that often? This paper isn’t about whether or not the death penalty is right or wrong, but about why it isn’t a hot button issue in American politics.