Examining the Death Penalty as State Crime

Presenter Information

Laura Finley, Barry UniversityFollow

Institutional Affiliation

Barry University

Start Date

16-1-2025 1:30 PM

End Date

16-1-2025 3:00 PM

Proposal Type

Presentation

Proposal Format

Virtual

Proposal Description

This presentation will address how the continued use of the death penalty in the United States can be considered an example of state crime. State crime is

state crime is “an act or omission of an action by actors within the state that results in violations of domestic and international law, human rights, or systematic or institutionalized harm of its or another state’s population, done in the name of the state regardless whether there is or is not self-motivation or interests at play” (Rothe & Kauzlarich, 2016, p. 102). State-produced harm is another way to consider state crime, as certain policies and practices may not be overtly illegal but perhaps should be, given the degree to which they are injurious (Tombs, 2018; Carlson, 2020). But, because it is the state itself that gets to determine what is illegal, they may not be defined as such (White, 2008). The state is aware of the many flaws with the death penalty, from wrongful convictions to racial bias, inadequate representation to torturous methods and more, yet refuses to completely abolish its use. Outside the U.S., two thirds of the world has abolished the death penalty in practice or by law, and international human rights treaties to which the United States is party have strongly called on the U.S. to do so as well. Supreme Court decisions have also acknowledged recognition of capital punishment as a human rights violation but have failed to go so far as to abolish it in all states.

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Jan 16th, 1:30 PM Jan 16th, 3:00 PM

Examining the Death Penalty as State Crime

This presentation will address how the continued use of the death penalty in the United States can be considered an example of state crime. State crime is

state crime is “an act or omission of an action by actors within the state that results in violations of domestic and international law, human rights, or systematic or institutionalized harm of its or another state’s population, done in the name of the state regardless whether there is or is not self-motivation or interests at play” (Rothe & Kauzlarich, 2016, p. 102). State-produced harm is another way to consider state crime, as certain policies and practices may not be overtly illegal but perhaps should be, given the degree to which they are injurious (Tombs, 2018; Carlson, 2020). But, because it is the state itself that gets to determine what is illegal, they may not be defined as such (White, 2008). The state is aware of the many flaws with the death penalty, from wrongful convictions to racial bias, inadequate representation to torturous methods and more, yet refuses to completely abolish its use. Outside the U.S., two thirds of the world has abolished the death penalty in practice or by law, and international human rights treaties to which the United States is party have strongly called on the U.S. to do so as well. Supreme Court decisions have also acknowledged recognition of capital punishment as a human rights violation but have failed to go so far as to abolish it in all states.