Feedback

In my last class, my partner and I gave a presentation on the NGO we came up with.
I will share the feedbacks we got from classmates.

"No Ryes For Eyes"

Almost everyone gave 4 or 5 (which are good) to importance of goals and missions, uniqueness, fundraising activities, methods, persuasion and the quality of the video.

Comments:
・The way of the recruiting members are very creative.
・Really difficult problem.
・I didn't get any interest in it by this presentation.
・I think doing a demonstration is a good way.
・It is a difficult problem. We have to deal with them carefully.
・I think that it is good to hold the lectures.
・Presentation was relatively understandable but maybe you can reconsider fund raising.
・Maybe the membership fee is too cheap.
・Perhaps widening fund raising activities.

Since the topic, death penalty, is a very difficult problem, my partner and I struggled to decide what the NGO should be like. We talked a lot and ended up to "No Eyes For Eyes".

Results of the survey

We made the Survey Monkey about the death penalty few weeks ago. We promoted but got only 36 answers. I'll write the results of it.


・Gender:
Female-18 people, Male-18 people

・Age:
From 19 to 55

・Country:
Mostly from Japan and some from the U.S.

・Which do you think is cheaper?
Executing someone-26 people, keeping someone alive in the cell for the rest of their lives-10 people

・Which do you think is better to atone for a sin?
Death penalty-4 people, imprisonment for life-32 people

・Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth?
It is out of date-12 people, I can still agree with this-14 people, Never heard this before-4 people, I'm against the death penalty-6 people

・How often do you hear about the death penalty?
Weekly-6 people, monthly-16 people, yearly-14 people

・If you agree in death penalty, which one do you think is the best way to execute?
Hanging-8 people, lethal injection-14 people, doesn't agree with the death penalty-12 people

・How many countries in the world has the death penalty legal?
Under 25-2 people, under 50-6 people, under 75-10 people, 75 or more-18 people

・What kind of mistakes can happen?
Executing innocent people-34 people, the way to execute may not work-16 people, the prisoner might suicide before death penalty-14 people, the criminal refuses and fights back-4 people, other-2 people (the chemicals used in the lethal injection may be painful or fail to kill the person, the prosoner might find "death" really easy.)

・Do you think the death penalty is cruel?
Yes-12 people, maybe-16 people, no-8 people

・Do you think your impression would change if you knew the criminal?
Yes-16 people, maybe-14 people, no-6 people

・Do you think mental problems might be caused for those carrying out the execution?
Yes-22 people, maybe-6 people, no-2 people

・Do you think all the countries should ban death penalty?
Yes-10 people, maybe-10 people, no-16 people

・If you think there is a difference between murder and the death penalty, please explain your ideas.
There's difference. It's mind of oneself.
I don't think there is any difference. The death penalty is state-sponsored murder.
Murdering is just a crime, no permission from the governor, but death penalty is an order from the government, so that's not a crime.
I think that there are pros and cons to do the death penalty and it is very difficult to decide whether the death penalty is good or bad, but murder will include the mind to hate the people who are innocent, but the death penalty is the way to kill people who are sinful and dangerous to go out of the prisons because of the second offense.
I think the death penalty is a sort of murder...
Death penalty is a penalty, but I still don't agree with it.

Q15. List of pros and cons of death penalty.

Here are the top reasons of pros and cons.

PROS:

・Death penalty costs the government less as opposed to life imprisonment without parole.
・It deters would-be criminals to commit felonies.
・The absence of death penalty is synonymous to crime rate increase.
・It is constitutional and does not violate the Eight Amendment which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, fines and cruel and unusual punishments.
・Death penalty is a just punishment for crimes committed against the rights to life, freedom and safety of victims.


CONS:

・Innocent people are wrongly executed.
・In relation to free will, some criminals are suffering from mental illness or are having clouded judgement at the time of the crime.
・It is an added cost to the government and taxpayers' money.
・Death penalty is a form of revenge.
・It is a platform that is anti-poor and discriminatory.

[CITATION]
・GREENGARAGE. http://greengarageblog.org/list-of-10-biggest-death-penalty-pros-and-cons
・listovative. http://listovative.com/5-pros-and-5-cons-of-capital-punishment/

Q14. Any news articles related to the death penalty?

On Friday just before a hearing on whether a man could face the death penalty, he, who's awaiting trial for the slaying woman, slipped out of his shackles and bolted from a courthouse. Broward Court Sheriff Scott Israel said Dayonte Resiles, 21, eluded bailiffs about 9:30 a.m. in a fourth floor courtroom and was seen on video surveillance escaping through an outside north door at the downtown courthouse. His black and white jail jumpsuit and shackles were left behind. Israel said the immediate focus is on capturing Resiles who was described in wanted posters as potentially armed and dangerous. But the sheriff said there are many questions about the escape that need to be answered.

The death penalty will be sought against Jordon Lowdermilk of Dobson suspected of killing an 80-year-old woman at her home and stabbing a man. A pretrial hearing regarding the death penalty will take place on August 30th. Prospectors alleged Lowdermilk broke into woman's house and beat her to death and stole her car. He is next set to appear in court on the murder charges on September 7th.




[CITATION]
・EYEWITNESS NEWS. http://abc7.com/news/murder-suspect-slips-cuffs;-escapes-before-death-penalty-hearing/1431037/
・WXII12. http://www.wxii12.com/news/death-penalty-sought-in-surry-county-homicide-case/40486086

Q13. Is there any march?

On October 29, 2016, the 17th Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty will take place in Austin at the Texas Capitol.

About the march to abolish the death penalty: Each autumn since 2000, people from all walks of life and all parts of Texas, the U.S. and other countries have taken a day out of their year and gathered in Austin to raise their voices together and loudly express their opposition to the death penalty. The march is a coming together of activists, family members of those on death row, community leaders, exonerated death row survivors and all those calling for abolition. The march started in Austin in 2000. In 2007 and 2008, the march was held in Houston. It came back to Austin for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013. It was in Houston again in 2014 and back in Austin in 2015. 

[CITATION]
・17TH ANNUAL MARCH TO ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY. http://marchforabolition.org

Q12. Are there any quotes about death penalty?

Yes there are. Here are some.

・Our criminal justice system is fallible. We know it, even though we don't like to admit it. It is fallible despite the best the best efforts of most within it to do justice. And this fallibility is, at the end of the day, the most compelling  persuasive, and winning argument against a death penalty. -Eliot Spitzer

・The death penalty is becoming a way of life in this country. -Dennis Miller

・I believe that people would be alive today if there were a death penalty. -Nancy Reagan

・The death penalty is discriminatory and does not do anything about crime. -Bobby Scott

・If Jesus had been killed twenty years ago, Catholic school children would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks instead of crosses. -Lenny Bruce

・Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. -J.R.R. Tolkien (Picture)










[CITATION]
・Brainy Quote. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/death_penalty.html
・Quotes About Death Penalty. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/death-penalty

Q11. What kind of crimes lead to the death penalty?

Here are the crimes that led to death penalty.

1. Consensual sexual relations outside marriage.
 ・At least 10 people, mainly women, were executed by this in Iran.

2. Trafficking drugs.
 ・70% of executions in 2012 in Iran were for drug offenses.

3. White collar crimes.
 ・In July 2012 in Iran, four men were sentenced to death after conviction of corruption and disrupting the country's economic system for their role in a massive bank fraud.

4. Opposing the government.
 ・In 2012, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani under charges of “enmity against God” for his alleged ties to a banned Iranian opposition group. 

5. Offending or abandoning religion.
 ・Because of this, people in Saudi Arabia, U.S., Iran and North Korea were executed.

In Japan, murder, robbery causing death, terrorism related offenses causing death, arson not resulting to death, treason, etc are punished by death.



[CITATION]
・AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2013/04/five-crimes-can-get-you-killed/
・Cornell Law School. http://www.deathpenaltyworldwide.org/country-search-post.cfm?country=japan