1 / 13

Why does the US still have DP?

Why does the US still have DP?. Existing theories… Socio-cultural values? Vigilante tradition No history of rigid class distinction in punishment No obvious sense of outer limits/no history of exceptions for status Limited welfare state Liberalism/individualism? Racism?.

jabari
Télécharger la présentation

Why does the US still have DP?

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Why does the US still have DP? Existing theories… • Socio-cultural values? • Vigilante tradition • No history of rigid class distinction in punishment • No obvious sense of outer limits/no history of exceptions for status • Limited welfare state • Liberalism/individualism? • Racism?

  2. Garland – DP in the US: • US on abolition trajectory for much of 19th and 20th centuries • 1976 – Furman v. GA struck down state death penalty statutes as violations of due process (not violations of cruel and unusual punishment) • US public no more supportive of DP than other countries; form of executions much like other countries pre-abolition • What needs explaining is last 30 years • Political institutions: institutional structures disrupt reform and resistance to DP

  3. U.S. institutional exceptionalism: high fragmentation and many veto points • Lack of clear mechanism for major social policy • Congress has enumerated powers that are often contested • Many veto points for powerful elites and ideological extremists • South, other regions (lower mid-west) • Federalism – multiple, simultaneous, overlapping • Senate • Supreme Court

  4. Political structures/mechanisms for nation-wide abolition of DP do not exist in US (outside Supreme Court) • Absence of strong parties • Existence of populist political mechanisms (referenda) • Election of judges and prosecutors • Vigilante values as a function of limited capacity for state to control violence? (Roth?)

  5. What about race…? • Where is race in Garland’s account of the persistence of the death penalty? • Garland privileges institutions but Unever and Cullen seem to suggest race is central to understanding DP in US. Why?

  6. Institutional features and their effects: • Parliamentary v. presidential • Presidential systems (separation of powers) may stalemate. • Parliamentary systems avoid stalemate (more effective) • Two-party v. multi-party (SMD v. PR) • PR/multi-party promotes broad representation, consensus • SMD/two-party promotes one-party rule, majoritarianism • Judicial v. parliamentary supremacy • Judicial supremacy can (maybe) mitigate ‘heat of the moment’ decision-making by legislative bodies • Parliamentary supremacy ensures that political ‘losers’ don’t use courts to overturn decisions that benefit the majority

  7. How institutional rules matter: Arrow’s impossibility theorem (paradox) 3 candidates, A B and C. Voter preferences are as follows: A > B B > C C > A Merkel>Cameron Cameron>HollandeHollande>Merkel First round: A v. B = A (Merkel) Second round: A v. C = C is winner (Hollande) First round: B v. C = B (Cameron) Second round: B v. A = A is winner (Merkel)

  8. Do institutional designs matter for rates of crime and punishment? • How might institutional structures (party systems, parliamentary/presidential, federalism and so on) affect rates of imprisonment in a country? • Which arrangements are more ‘democratic?’

  9. Voter turnout – % of registered voters

  10. Liberal market economies: US and UK • Corporatist, conservative market economies: Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium • Social democracies: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland

More Related