EUROPEAN LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

EUROPEAN LAW - Essay Example idity and the legal basis of the said directives.2 The manufacturers invoked the principles of subsidiarity, proportionality, right to property and the right to conduct economic activity under Articles 28 and 30 EC and the European Convention Human Rights Protocol, which specify provisions on basic right to property and the right to conduct economic activity freely. The claimants also invoked infraction of Article 253 EC also referred to as the duty to give reasons. Furthermore, the manufacturers of food supplement also challenged Articles 3, 4(1) and 15 (b) of the EC rulings, which state that only food supplements which comply with aforesaid directives may be sold within the European Community and the vitamins and minerals specified under the directives may be utilised. The directive further stated that effective August 1, 2005, products which did not comply with the directives should be prohibited.3 The court has dealt with these issues in the past as for instance in the case of Sw edish Match and Arnold Andre4 and has made its decisions based on the judgments brought forth on that particular case. The EC Directives define ‘food supplements’ as products or items whose purpose is to supplement the daily diet, foodstuffs which contain concentrated nutrients or materials having nutritional or physiological results. These supplements are either marketed in isolation or come in dosage forms, which include capsules, tablets or pills. One of the disputed directives state that only ‘vitamins and minerals’ specified ‘in the forms listed in Annex I and in the forms listed in Annex II maybe used for the manufacture of food supplement5. The court riling and the EC directives likewise invoked treaties signed by the member states of the EC. The Directive provided in Article 15 also affirmed that ‘Member States shall bring into the force of laws’ and other aforesaid stipulations needed to abide by the Directive6. The manufacturers of health foods asked the courts

Questions on 4 difrent subjects, each 4 paragraphs Essay

Questions on 4 difrent subjects, each 4 paragraphs - Essay Example This can be done as a dramatic scene/dialogue, or as an assay. If Malcolm X was standing perilously close to a cliff as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Jonathan Edwards walked by arguing about cosmological strategies, both men would stop to talk to the distraught Malcolm. Emerson would talk about if Malcolm committed suicide, he would be in effect killing part of God. Edwards, on the other hand would talk to Malcolm about the fate of hell fire for anyone that committed suicide. Malcolm would come up with different responses for both men. Emerson would go first, explaining that if Malcolm went over the cliff he would never find God. The search for God cannot be found after death, but during life. All of Malcolm’s experiences were trials and blessing that would bring him closer to God. The only thing Malcolm had to do was hear these experiences. Malcolm might reply that all of his experiences have told him the Christian God did not care about him. If Emerson’s views were correct, than Malcolm should jump off the cliff because the nature has related to him God does not exist, or worse does not care about him. After Emerson, Edwards would have to speak quickly to stop Malcolm from jumping. Edwards would speak about an all powerful God that had the power to damn him to hell for suicide. Suicide is the only sin God could not forgive, because the dead could not ask for forgiveness. Then Edwards would talk about the predestination of him and Emerson coming upon him as a sign Malcolm should live. Malcolm might hesitate two seconds before jumping after Edwards’ plea. This whole scenario would never happen due to the inner strength of the African American candidates given for this question. Malcolm X would not listen to Emery or Emerson, because of the differences between the three men. Malcolm would feel like both men as Christians and white men would never understand his point of view. 2- Anne Hutchinson, Mother Ann Lee, Mary Baker Eddy, What do the lives,

A Study into the Process of Downsizing and Reengineering Essay - 1

A Study into the Process of Downsizing and Reengineering - Essay Example The business process re-engineering helps companies to restructure their organizations by emphasizing on the design of business processes. The business process can be defined as the tasks which are logically related and a defined business outcome can be achieved by these tasks. The process of re-engineering focuses on the objectives of business by encouraging the recreation of processes in a full scale rather than optimization of sub processes. Business process re-engineering is also called as business transformation, business process redesign and business process change management. Downsizing A concept incorporated into many models of reengineering is downsizing or reduction of staff. It refers to reducing the excess staff members and cut down costs. When it happens, it is required to handle the layoffs in a manner without striking fear into the main employee base. It loses the competitive edge of the company. It creates the employees to wonder for what is going to happen the next. If the majority of problems lie at the top of company, the managers will be the first to be let go. On occurrence of this situation, the new team of business management, in their reengineering efforts, is expected to lead the company forward. Their duty is to get the rest employees of the company with their new line of thinking on board. This participation requires cooperation, trust and commitment from everyone involved in it. Reengineering traits and downsizing To be successful in achieving the goal of downsizing, an internal team of reengineering is required to be formed. If people with different opinions could be selected for the team then chances for success will be greater. It can include such people who are familiar with the internal operations of the company, customers, those having little knowledge in the area and outside consultants. When choosing the members of team from within the company, if people having different areas of expertise could be selected, then the selectio n will be the best. This will facilitate the company to get numerous and diverse ideas from the members of team. It is suggested not to make a team of more than ten; otherwise, the team could become unmanageable. So the team should not get too big. The process of business reengineering can be drastic. The employees within the company can experience emotions like fear, anger, shock, anxiety and denial. Management of the company should be prompt and quick in noticing it and should try to calm such resentment growing within the company. The process of rebirth of organization should be stressed by them. Rather, they should try to create enthusiasm. If they become successful, replacement can be made to the fear of employees with anticipation as they help the company to grow into a competitive entity. The process of reengineering involves reinvention of company from its ground up. It involves abandonment of old habits and adoption of new ones. This should be implemented in rapid motions r ather than in smaller steps as initiating the same with smaller steps can fall back the company into its older habits. This can lead to mergers, liquidations and outsourcing of jobs. At the same time, history of company, relationship with customer, strength of past assets should also be considered.

Self introduction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Self introduction - Essay Example It is natural, that I am a kind of typical representative of my nation with its specific interests and activities. To tell you the truth the cultural entertainment is traditionally received much attention in my motherland. As here in America we have the American way of life, so there is the Chinese way of life in China, which is determined by the gymnastics Taiji. My friends and I are those people who were engaged in practicing of sports in the morning parks. And by the way such sportsmen can be also seen then-and-now. Among other activities valuable and adorable by me is Ping-Pong, which is played just in the city streets. No matter which way you look at it, Ping-Pong is our national sport available for everyone. Moreover, it is a really interesting and developing game, for it stimulates such human’s qualities as quick reflexes, concentration, attention and concernment of mastership, as there are many guys able to show various and sundry tricks with rackets at an unimaginable speed. And definitely you have heard about our main amusement of karaoke. You must know, it is our craze, and there are many new karaoke bars, which have been opened recently. So here I am, a practitioner of Taiji, who plays Ping-Pong and likes singing karaoke, as all these choices are still with me in America. Incidentally, my personal example proves the fact that there is less and less time for Taoist slowness and Confucian measured gravity in the life of the modern Chinese. The pace of life increases, and as a result the time allotted for spirituality reduces. Such an acceleration of life is the main mark of the recent years, which may alter the traditional slow Chinese mentality. As for my experience at Greenville High School in Alabama, where I have come for studying after the moving from China, I cannot say that it was easy. The main difficulty for me was total learning in English. Naturally, I was taught the language up to then, but Chinese English pronunciation

Environmental issues Essay Example for Free

Environmental issues Essay What ways has learning about new environmental issues changed the way of living sustainably? The knowledge of environmental issues has changed the way we live. We learn a lot from our past experiences. Environmental problems paved a way for scientific advancements. An example of this is the invention of alternative fuel in vehicles. Environmental issues help promote social networks among countries. Information technology improved our communication with other people. We learn about counter measures of certain environmental problems from them and in turn, we share our knowledge to them. In our everyday lives, we learn the importance of cleanliness and discipline. Throwing our garbage anywhere might start an epidemic and result to death of animals and plants as well as humans. What important information has the greatest impact on the way you think about the environment? How can you apply this knowledge in the future? The most important information that changed my way of thinking about the environment is the knowledge of Global Warming. Why? Well, among the biggest mistakes humans ever made was to cause the depletion of the ozone layer. Its effects are devastating yet there isn’t an effective way of stopping it. The knowledge of such issue will help save humanity. I may be the one to find a way to stop Global Warming in the future. Nevertheless, if only all will help in solving this problem, we might be able to find the most effective way of saving the environment, saving our own lives. Reference: Global warming. (n. d. ). Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 02, 2007, from Answers. com Web site: http://www. answers. com/topic/global-warming

The resource curse in myanmar

The resource curse in myanmar Introduction Myanmar (Burma) has distinguished diversity in both its ethnicity and geography. Myanmar has been ruled by the formidable military junta that has contributed to raising many problems in the social, political and economic spheres. Myanmar is infamous for the worlds longest civil war, dire poverty, poor public health and systematic human rights violations. Especially, the oppression of the military regime against some indigenous groups and pro-democracy demonstrators have been done in cruel manners such as forced displacement, arbitrary detentions, rapes, torture and massacres. In the pro-democracy demonstration in 1988, as many as 3,000 unarmed protestors were killed by the Myanmar army (Human Rights Watch, 1989). The regime has maintained tight control over all facets of economy and society, including the countrys natural resources. Myanmar has plenty of natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, timber and valuable minerals such as gold, tin, rubies and jade. In contrast with the countrys abundance of natural resources, Myanmars development has never been on the right track; the outcomes are poor economic growth, extensive poverty, military dictatorship and prolonged civil war. In reality, the abundance of natural resources in Myanmar has contributed to extensive human right abuses and environmental degradation: forced labor, displacement, deforestation, soil contamination, etc. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the military regime of Myanmar spends at least 40 percent of its national budget on military expenditures, in contrast with the indiscreetly low allocation of the health budget (only 0.4 percent), regardless of the exploding public health crisis (Taisamyone 2007). The military junta has exploited billions of dollars from the national revenue to fuel the military force; in other words, the money that was supposed to enrich the Myanmar citizens has been used for the military activity to control or oppress the citizens. The situation of Myanmar ― a paradoxical outcome of natural resource abundance ― can be true of the â€Å"resource curse† that has been addressed for years in a multitude of researches of countries development. The term resource curse is used to describe the paradox that dependence on natural resources, especially in developing countries often negatively affects the economic growth, democratization and promotion of human rights. As a matter of fact, many countries rich in natural resources have failed to develop and remain in miserable situations. (Humphreys 2007) It is well known that the economic instability in a resource-rich country is caused by an economic concept called â€Å"Dutch disease† ― a countrys currency value is raised by the export of natural resources, and it will makes the other domestic industries uncompetitive in the other export activities due to the inflationary exchange rate (Humphreys 2007). In addition, it is now widely agreed that the curse of natural resources degrades the quality of governance, and as a result, natural resources often provokes civil war (Collier 2007). This paper seeks to analyze the formation of the resource courses in Myanmar, by taking up the key issues of the primary resources that have largely influenced the states condition. The paper especially focuses on the relation of the parties involved with the natural resource issues in the context of economical, ecological and social aspects, rather than focusing on the theory of economic science such as the Dutch disease. Also, this paper will provide some suggestions of how to resolve the Myanmars resource curse from a point of view of sustainable development and environmental scarcity. Natural Gas Myanmars natural gas exports in the fiscal year of 2007-08 was 2.6 billion U.S dollars, and account for 43 percent of the total exports, according to the report from Myanmars Customs Department (Yao 2008). The largest of Myanmars industrial projects is the Yanada project. The Yanada pipeline was bridged from the offshore area to the Thai border with a 60-kilometer-long route across southern Burma. During the construction, the Burmese military regularly conscripted villagers in the pipeline area to impose forced labor. The villagers were afflicted with extensive human rights violations including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings by the military junta (ERI 2008). Environmental degradation during the construction and operation period is also serious problem. Offshore drilling creates massive toxic wastes that are usually dumped into the ocean. Both the disposal of toxic waste and the drilling cause a hazardous effect on the wet lands, fish and habitats, and pollute water supplies (ALTSEAN-Burma 2009). There is another serious problem in natural gas projects other than human rights abuses and environmental degradation. The military expenditure of the military junta dramatically increased due to the Yanada project. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Myanmars military budget was estimated at $900 million U.S. of the total budget of $2.3 billion. The Yanada project provided the largest portion of the revenue, and at least 50 % of it would flow directly to the military regime (CIA Factbook cited in ERI 2008). The natural gas and multinational corporations have not benefited the local population at all but they have contributed much to financing the military junta. There has been no threat from neighboring countries since the countys independence in 1948; the purpose of enforcing military rule is only to control or oppress its citizens. While Myanmar pours its huge budget into the military activities, the country is severely impoverished as one of the poorest countries in the world. Timber Aside from the natural gas industry, the timber industry also produces a significant profit in Myanmar. Because of its lucrative nature, especially in the variable teak, the military junta has overexploited the countrys forests. The extensive illegal logging is a huge problem, leading to the deforestation and the destruction of biodiversity. The forests covered 70% of Myanmars total land area at the time of its independence in 1948, but most independent estimates indicated that over half of the countrys forests were cut down by commercial logging operations as of 1998 (Dennis 1999). Deforestation contributes to massive soil erosion, temperature increase and flooding in the areas logged. Deforestation spoils the quality and availability of water and directly harms the local communities livelihood; farming is impossible in the land and a shortage of clean water undermines the health of the people. Not only that, forests are furthermore important for the indigenous people in their religious beliefs and practices. â€Å"Karen people in Lu Thaw Township are famous for their traditional beliefs related to forests†¦If there was no forest, there would be no rotational farming, plant diversity, and the specific cultural identity, traditional beliefs and values of the Karen would disappear.† (PKDS and KESAN 2004) In the peripheral part of the country, the ethnopolitical groups manage the logging industry for the benefit of .hard currency. The logging business provides both the military junta and the local ethnopolitical minorities with profit, and this has led to an incompatible relationship between them. The military junta started to monopolize the timber industry and forcibly removed ethnopolitical groups that managed some forest areas, such as Karen National Union States (KNU) that dealt with the logging business in the unreserved forest area of Karen State. The military junta has cut down forests indiscriminately whether they are reserved or unreserved. The military junta stripped the living environment and a significant source of income from the local communities. Thus, logging and political conflict are interrelated in the Karen State (PKDS and KESAN 2004). Dams The military junta has been enforcing the construction of dams along the Salween River for the sake of hydropower. In the dome sites, forced labor and human rights violations were regularly conducted by the Burmese military, as well as the construction of the natural gas pipeline construction described above. A series of dam constructions caused a threat of flood and water scarcity, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to higher ground. Although the military junta once promised abundant electricity and water supplies along the dam sites, the local population has never received the benefit. On the contrary, local communities in the area, mainly Karenni ethnic people, have been suffering from the destruction of the environment and shortage of water, which have directly damaged both farming and fishing industries, and the local communities livelihood. One of four dams of the Salween River, the Weigyi Dam, flooded several times, extending over 640 square kilometers, and made 30,000 villagers homeless, submerging 28 towns in Karen State (KDRG 2006). Ongoing Civil War in Myanmar Myanmar has a long history of numerous civil wars due to the great diversity of the ethnic groups and the problematic politics of the military regime. Several ethnopolitical minorities had organized rebellion and fought simultaneously against the military regime to achieve their self-determination. Most of the ethnopolitical minorities, however, compromised on cease-fire agreements with the military regime in the end of 1980s, after an offer of the military regime that promised a part of the political rights for the combatant ethnopolitical groups. A few ethnopolitical groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) are still in combat against the military junta. Both the Karen and Karenni state have been severely oppressed by the military junta. In Karen State, the number of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), by forced displacement or relocation by military junta, counts over 157,000 since the end of 2002, and over 240 villages were destroyed or relocated (Human Rights Watch 2005). In Karenni State, more than 81,000 civilians, equivalent to 25 percent of the total population, were displaced and 267 villages were destroyed (Burma Issues 2008). Karen and Karenni State are the locations that are troubled with some of the largest numbers of IDPs in Myanmar. The cruel oppressions of the military junta against Karen and Karenni definitely caused a grievance that incites the ethnopolitical groups to take up arms against the military junta. In some cases, those oppressions are closely linked with the interest of natural resources. As a reason for displacement, there are two main reasons: â€Å"conflict induced displacement†Ã¢â‚¬â€¢ a forced displacement induced as a result of conflicts in the area and â€Å"development induced displacement† ― a forced displacement for the purpose of development or exploitation of natural resource of the area (Burma Issues 2008). Karenni State is a very example of development induced displacement. â€Å"Karenni State a number of different development projects are being undertaken by the military junta including, mining, logging, hydro-electricity, industrial development and agriculture projects.† (Burma Issues 2008) The development project led the military junta set up military base along the construction sites, and forces extensive human rights abuses and causes environmental degradation. Massive forced displacement was done along both with its process and operation process (see Dams section in this paper). Also, there are several examples that conflicts were exacerbated over a right to control natural resources. One of the cease-fire groups, Karenni National Democratic Party (KNDP), was compelled to recruit into the military junta as the exchange condition for receiving the control of the local area. The KNDP participated in the Burmese troops in 1997 to attack a refugees shelter located in the side of Thai border. This means ceasefire groups fought against non-ceasefire groups, resulting in intra-ethnic conflicts. Moreover, the military junta granted control of areas and resources to the ethnopolitical groups who joined to attack non-ceasefire groups to raise a grievance among ethnopolitical groups. (KDRG 2006) Some displacement in Karen State was done for the purpose of seizing control of the dam, mining and logging sites, that is, the development induced displacement. However, the displacement of Karen State was triggered in reasons for conflict-induced displacement rather than development-induced displacement. Those conflicts can be regarded as the consequence of a series of oppression and development-induced displacement by the military junta (see Timbersection in this paper). The destruction of environment, livelihood, and cultural value of the ethnic people induced the KNU to take up arms against the military junta. As a result of prolonged numerous conflicts, the people in Karen State, especially the 157,000 IDPs, were severely victimized in both development-induced displacement and conflict-induced displacement. As the examples of Kanenni and Karen State, an abundance of natural resource have induced huge mount of cruel displacement and civil wars across the country, and it would be the body of the resource curse in Myanmar. Analysis from a Concept for Sustainable Development and Environmental Scarcity This section examines: 1) how the military junta, the body of Myanmars politics, is getting along with a major concept of sustainable development, 2) the relation between environmental scarcity and conflict, based on a academic theory. Promoting sustainable development is based on the three pillars: The social: this relates to human mores and values, relationship and institutions. The economic: this concerns the allocation and distribution of scarce of resources. The ecological: this involves the contribution of both the economic and the social and their effect on the environment and its resources. (Ekins 2000 cited in Banker 2006) For the social context, military junta has extensively violated human rights against the citizens, especially ethnopolitical group who live in the sites of natural resources. For the economic context, military junta has monopolized the profit of the resource to enforce their military capacity, intending to control over the population with the country. This resulted in the extremely poor economic growth of the country. For the ecological context, there have been a myriad of environmental degradations in any types of natural resource extraction (see sections of Natural Gas, Timber and Dam in this paper). Unflatteringly, the military junta has been doing the things in the opposite way of sustainable development. In the concept of sustainable development, scholars all agreed that social participation is an essential to promote sustainable development; making decision procedure should involve democracy with local communities (Banker 2006). In the case of Myanmar, the National League for Democracy gained the support from the majority of the country citizens in 1990 national election, and Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the Prime Minister. However, the military junta demolished the election and refused the citizens to participate the national politics, by making military threats. In recent decades, environmental scarcity could plausibly generate some types of violent conflict in a country much dependent on environmental goods and services. One of the types refers to â€Å"Disputes arising directly from local environmental degradation caused, for instance, by factory emissions, logging, or dam† (Thomas and Homer 1999). For the relation between environmental scarcity and conflicts, some scientists adopt a process called reciprocal causation. As the causal steps show, Myanmars environmental degradation by military junta caused a significant environmental scarcity in the local communities, such the cases of Karen and Karenni State that is still in a situation of violent conflicts today. All the cases of Myanmar, described above in the paper, have proved that the military junta has contributing to ignoring the countrys sustainable development, and inducing to create violent conflict against local communities. In this perspective, it is absolutely important to address the Myanmars ethnopolitical conflicts, based on environmental issues. Conclusion Due to the combination of the bad governance and an abundance of the natural resources, Myanmar has lapsed into a miserable situation: poverty, poor economic growth, continuous civil wars, etc. These catastrophic outcomes are definitely attributable to the failure of the natural resource management by the military junta. Even the effort to establish a democratic state by the citizens was destroy by the injustice of the military junta. It is necessary to have further cooperation both within the country and out side of the country (international communities). The attitude of international communities against the military junta is controversial.Althoughinternational communities have imposedeconomicsanctionandlimittheir trading, this directly benefited the nonbearing countries such as China, Thailand, and India. As a result, the economic sanction has decreased the performance of the countrys economic growth; Myanmar has to sell their products in cheap price due to the lack of trade partners. Besides, the interest between China and Myanmar has hindered the use of Responsibility to Protect of United Nations Security Council. In any case, international communities have to immediately come up with another alternative to change the military junta. For the cooperation within the country, it is important to refer to the capacity of ethnopolitical minorities. Although some ethnopolitical minorities have some power to negotiate with the military junta, each group has their own policy and sometimes the policies among ethnopolitical minorities are incompatible. If there is a chance to overcome the power of the military regime, it is a time when all the ethnopolitical minorities and citizens unite their purpose for the democracy for whole nation, not pursuing each own political rights. Reference: ALTSEAN-Burma(Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma) (2009) KEY ISSUES ENVIRONMENT, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.altsean.org/Key%20Issues/KeyIssuesEnvironment.htm Collier, P. (2007) The Bottom Billion, Oxford: Oxford University Press Dennis, J. V. (1999) A REVIEW OF NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES Myanmar, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/AE24021D05C497DDC725682E003722D4/$FILE/FULLTEXT.html Burma Issues (March 2008) Living Ghosts -The spiraling repression of the Karenni population under the Burmese military junta, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs4/livingghosts.pdf EarthRights International (ERI) (April 2008) The Human Cost of Energy, Retrieved on 23rd January 2010 from http://www.earthrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Human-Cost-of-Energy.pdf Humphreys, M. et al (2007) Escaping the Resource, New York: Curse Columbia University Press Human Rights Watch (1989) BURMA (Myanmar), Retrieved on January 22nd 2010 from http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1989/WR89/Burma.htm Human Rights Watch; Vol. 17, No.4 (June, 2005). â€Å"They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again† The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State: New York. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.ashleysouth.co.uk/files/Human_Rights_Watch_2005.pdf Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) (2006) Dammed by Burmas Generals, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.khitpyaingnews.org/reports/Dammed%20by%20Burmas%20Generals.pdf Kramer T. (July, 2009) Neither War Nor Peace: The Future of the Cease-Fire Agreements in Burma, Transnational Institute. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/TNI_Burma_CeasefireAgreements.pdf Pan Kachin Development Society (PKDS) and Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) (2004) Destruction and degradation of the Burmese Frontier forests, Amsterdam: Kaboem, Rerieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.aaa.htm Taisamyone (6th July, 2007) Editorial: Disproportionate military expenditure in Burma, Burma Digest, Retrieved on 22nd January, 2010 from http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/editorial-disproportionate-military-expenditure-in-burma/ Thomas, D. and Homer, D (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence, United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. Yao Amber (2008) Natural gas tops Myanmar exports in 2007-08, Xinhua News Agency, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/15/content_8374394.htm

What Is Your Position On The Death Penalty Philosophy Essay

What Is Your Position On The Death Penalty Philosophy Essay Does the death penalty serve as a deterrent to crime? Naturally, supporters of the death penalty believe that capital punishment acts as the best deterrent possible for decreasing instances of crime. Abolitionists however, think that the death penalty is no more of a deterrent than life imprisonment. The bottom line is that deterrence in regards to the death penalty is the theory about the mind of a murderer involving the psychological processes that exist (Costanzo, 2004). If so, why are crime rates in the United States comparatively high? What are some other countries responses to the death penalty? What is your position on the death penalty- should it be legal or should it be abolished? Why? Should youths who have been convicted of violent crimes be subject to the death penalty? Why or why not? Capital punishment is punishment by death for committing a crime. Capital punishment is often called the death penalty. It is most commonly used in convictions for murder. But it has also been used for such crimes as armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, and treason. About 60 countries-including the United States and many African and Asian nations-use capital punishment. Canada, Australia, and most European and Latin American nations have abolished it.   Table Capital punishment in the United States Throughout history, governments have executed criminals by a variety of methods. These methods have included hanging, crucifixion, stoning, beheading, and poisoning. Since the 1600s, shooting-often by firing squads-has been a common method of execution in many countries. Some countries execute criminals using electrocution or deadly gas. The most commonly used method in the United States is lethal injection. Lethal injection involves the use of drugs that stop the persons breathing and heartbeat. History of capital punishment. Governments have used capital punishment since ancient times. In 399  B.C., the Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned to death. He was forced to drink hemlock, a poison the people of ancient Athens used for the death penalty. Between the A.D.  400s and 1400s, thousands of people in Europe were executed were executed for crimes against the state and church. Most were hanged or beheaded. During the French Revolution (1789-1799), the revolutionary government executed around 40,000 people. One method of execution in France was the guillotine, a beheading machine. The use of capital punishment in many parts of the world declined during the 1900s. The United Kingdom suspended capital punishment for murder in 1965 and abolished it in 1969. Northern Ireland, however, which is part of the United Kingdom, kept the death penalty for several more years. By 1998, capital punishment had been banned in the entire United Kingdom for all crimes. Canada abolished the death penalty for murder in 1976 and for all crimes in 1998. By 1985, Australia had abolished capital punishment for all crimes. About 130 nations have formally abolished capital punishment or stopped using it. Many less developed countries continue to use the death penalty. The United States is the only industrialized Western nation where executions still take place. In the United States, the death penalty may be given as a punishment under federal law, military law, or the laws of 35 states. The decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Furman v. Georgia (1972) greatly influenced the use of capital punishment in the United States. The court held that the death penalty, as it was delivered at the time, was cruel and unusual punishment. Therefore, the death penalty violated the 8th and 14th amendments to the Constitution. However, the court left open the possibility that the death penalty could be constitutional if it were conducted differently. The court stated that death penalty laws must be limited to certain crimes and applied according to fair standards. Following the decision, many states passed new laws to satisfy the courts requirements. In Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the Supreme Court upheld the use of capital punishment for people sentenced under new laws in Florida, Georgia, and Texas. The court ruled that the death penalty itself and the standards developed by the states were constitutional. Later in the 1970s, the court struck down laws that made the death penalty mandatory (required) for certain crimes. It also abolished the death penalty as a punishment for rape. More than 1,000 people have been executed in the United States since the Supreme Court upheld the death penalty in 1976. Thousands more are imprisoned on death row. Death row is where people who have been sentenced to death await execution. Many prisoners on death row are awaiting the outcome of legal appeals. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that juries, not judges, must decide sentences in capital punishment cases in which there was a trial by jury. That same year, the court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute people who have an intellectual disability. In 2005, the court banned the use of capital punishment in cases where the offender (person who broke the law) was under 18 years of age when the crime was committed. In the early 2000s, some U.S. states reexamined their capital punishment systems. Evidence had shown that some prisoners on death row were actually innocent or had been tried unfairly. For example, in 2001, Illinois declared a moratorium (temporary halt) on capital punishment. During the moratorium, a commission reviewed the fairness of the system and found many flaws. Therefore, Illinois continued its moratorium. In 2003, Illinois Governor George Ryan commuted (reduced) the death sentences of all the prisoners then on death row in the state. He changed most of the sentences to life in prison without parole. Other states halted executions, at least temporarily, to study the method of lethal injection. In 2006, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida suspended the death penalty in the state. This suspension followed an incident in which prison officials had mishandled the lethal injection of a convicted killer. Bush appointed a commission to investigate whether lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In mid-2007, Florida resumed the death penalty. In 2006, a federal judge in California declared a halt on executions to determine the constitutionality of lethal injections. Executions in the United States were put on hold in September 2007 after two Kentucky death-row inmates challenged the current procedures of delivering lethal injections. The inmates argued that the method violated the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In April 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the current lethal injection procedures. This ruling permitted executions to resume in the United States. A number of U.S. state legislatures in the early 2000s considered laws to end their states use of the death penalty. New Jersey abolished death penalty in 2007. New Mexico did so in 2009. Print History of capital punishment subsection The debate over capital punishment. People often disagree about whether capital punishment is a moral and effective way of dealing with crime. Many people oppose the death penalty because they believe it is cruel. They believe it is not consistent with the ideals of modern society. Critics also warn that innocent people could be executed if they are mistakenly convicted or unfairly sentenced. Most critics favor life imprisonment as an alternative to capital punishment. Supporters of capital punishment believe that, in certain circumstances, a person who takes a human life deserves to lose his or her own life. Supporters also argue that the threat of capital punishment deters (discourages) people from committing serious crimes. However, studies have not consistently shown that the death penalty has a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. Print The debate over capital punishment subsection ______________ Contributor: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Ã‚  Robert W. Taylor, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Criminal Justice, University of North Texas. How to cite this article: To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format: Taylor, Robert W. Capital punishment. World Book Advanced. World Book, 2011. Web.   4 Feb. 2011. To learn about citing sources, see Help. Extracts from Beccarias an Essay on Crimes and Punishments BECCARIA, An Essay on Crimes and Punishments (Edinburgh, 1788), pp. 49 sqq., 70 sq., 111 sqq., 169. World History 93. What are in general the proper punishments for crimes? Is the punishment of death really useful or necessary for the safety or good order of society? Are tortures and torments consistent with justice, or do they answer the end proposed by the laws? Which is the best method of preventing crimes? Are the same punishments equally useful at all times? What influence have they on morals? These problems should be solved with that geometrical precision which the mist of sophistry, the seduction of eloquence, and the timidity of doubt are unable to resist. If I have no other merit than that of having first presented to my country with a greater degree of evidence what other nations have written and are beginning to practice, I shall account myself fortunate; but if, by supporting the rights of mankind and of invincible truth, I shall contribute to save from the agonies of death one unfortunate victim of tyranny or of ignorance, equally fatal, his blessing and tears of transport will be a sufficient consolation to me for the contempt of mankind.  .  .  . It is evident that the intent of punishments is not to torment a sensitive being nor to undo a crime already committed. Is it possible that torments and useless cruelty, the instruments of furious fanaticism or of the impotency of tyrants, can be authorized by a political body which, so far from being influenced by passion, should be the cool moderator of the passions of individuals? Can the groans of a tortured wretch recall the time past or reverse the crime he has committed? The end of punishment therefore is no other than to prevent others from committing the like offense. Such punishments, therefore, and such a mode of inflicting them ought to be chosen as will make strongest and most lasting impressions on the minds of others with the least torment to the body of the criminal.  .  .  . Use of torture The torture of a criminal during the course of his trial is a cruelty consecrated by custom in most nations. It is used with an intent either to make him confess his crime or explain some contradictions into which he has been led during his examination; or discover his accomplices; or for some kind of metaphysical and incomprehensible purgation of infamy; or finally, in order to discover other crimes of which he is not accused, but of which he may be guilty. No man can be judged a criminal until he be found guilty; nor can society take from him the public protection until it has been proved that he has violated the conditions on which it was granted. What right, then, but that of mere power can authorize the punishment of a citizen so long as there remains any doubt of his guilt? The following dilemma is a frequent one! Either he is guilty or not guilty. If guilty, he should only suffer the punishment ordained by the laws, and torture becomes useless, as his confession is unnecessary. If he be not guilty, you torture the innocent; for in the eye of the law every man is innocent whose crime has not been proved.  .  .  . A very strange but necessary consequence of the use of torture is that the plight of the innocent is worse than that of the guilty. With regard to the first, either he confesses the crime which he has not committed and is condemned, or he is acquitted and has suffered a punishment he did not deserve. On the contrary, the person who is really guilty has the most favorable side of the question; for if he supports the torture with firmness and resolution, he is acquitted and is the gainer, having exchanged a greater punishment for a less.  .  .  . Arguments against capital punishment The punishment of death is pernicious to society from the examples of barbarity it affords. If the passions or the necessity of war have taught men to shed the blood of their fellow-creatures, the laws, which are intended to moderate the ferocity of mankind, should not increase it by examples of barbarity,-the more horrible since this punishment is usually attended with formal pageantry. Is it not absurd that the laws which detect and punish homicide should, in order to prevent murder, publicly commit murder themselves? What are the true and most useful laws? Those compacts and conditions which all would propose and observe in those moments when private interest is silent or combined with that of the public. What are the natural sentiments of every person concerning the punishment of death? We may read them in the contempt and indignation with which every one looks on the executioner, who is nevertheless an innocent executor of the public will, a good citizen who contributes to the advantage of society, the instrument of the general security within as good soldiers are without. What, then, is the origin of this contradiction? Why is this sentiment of mankind indelible, however one may reason? It is because in a secret corner of the mind, in which the original impressions of nature are still preserved, men discover a sentiment which tells them that their lives are not lawfully in the power of any one, but of that necessity only which with its iron scepter rules the universe.  .  .  . The past full of mistakes If it be objected that almost all nations in all ages have punished certain crimes with death, I answer that the force of these examples vanishes when opposed to truth against which prescription is urged in vain. The history of mankind is an immense sea of errors in which a few obscure truths may here and there be found.  .  .  . That some societies only, either few in number or for a very short time, have abstained from the punishment of death is rather favorable to my argument, for such is the fate of great truths that their duration is only as a flash of lightning in the long dark night of error. The happy time has not yet arrived when truth, as falsehood has been hitherto, shall be the portion of the greatest number. I am sensible that the voice of one philosopher is too weak to be heard amidst the clamors of a multitude blindly influenced by custom; but there is a small number of sages scattered on the face of the earth who will echo me from the bottom of their hearts; and if these truths should happily force their way to the thrones of princes, be it known to them that they come attended with the secret wishes of all mankind; and tell the sovereign that deigns them a gracious reception that his fame shall outshine the glory of conquerors, and that equitable posterity will exalt his peaceful trophies above those of a Titus, an Antoninus, or a Trajan. The benevolent despots How happy were mankind if laws were now to be first formed, now that we see on the thrones of Europe benevolent monarchs, friends to the virtues of peace, to the arts and sciences, fathers of their people, though crowned, yet citizens; the increase of whose authority augments the happiness of their subjects by destroying that intermediate despotism which intercepts the prayers of the people to the throne. If these humane princes have suffered the old laws to subsist, it is doubtless because they are disturbed by the numberless obstacles which oppose the subversion of errors by the sanction of many ages; and therefore every wise citizen will wish for the increase of their authority.  .  .  . Would you prevent crimes? Let the laws be clear and simple; let the entire force of the nation be united in their defense; let them be intended rather to favor every individual than any particular classes of men; let the laws be feared and the laws only.  .  .  . From what I have written, results the following general theorem of considerable utility, though not conformable to Custom, the common legislator of nations: That a punishment may not be an act of violence, of one or of many, against a private member of society; it should be public, immediate, and necessary; the least possible in the case given; proportioned to the crime, and determined by the laws. How to cite this document: To cite this document, World Book recommends the following format: di Beccaria, Marchese . Extracts from Beccarias An Essay on Crimes and Punishments. Readings in Modern European History: A Collection of Extracts from the Sources Chosen With the Purpose of Illustrating Some of the Chief Phases of the Development of Europe During the Last Two Hundred Years, Volume 1: The Eighteenth Century: The French Re. Boston: Ginn and Company, 1908. World Book Advanced. Web. 4 Feb. 2011. ANOTHER VIEW: Do not expand New Hampshires death penalty Anonymous. The Union Leader. Manchester, N.H.: Feb 2, 2011. pg. A.7 Abstract (Summary) [] the abolition of the death penalty does not jeopardize our states ability to protect people from dangerous criminals, as we have available to us the sentence of life without the possibility of parole (which the minority report of the Commission to Study the Death Penalty in New Hampshire referred to as death by incarceration). [] in the midst of all our discussion on legislation, let us never fail to express our support for the families and friends of victims of terrible crimes.   Ã‚ »   Jump to indexing (document details) Full Text   (672   words) Copyright Union Leader Corporation Feb 2, 2011 THE NEW HAMPSHIRE House of Representatives soon will consider two bills, HB 147 and HB 162, which seek to expand the death penalty in our state. As Catholic bishops, and as citizens of New Hampshire, we urge the members of the House to vote against these bills. Like other citizens of our state, our hearts are broken by the inconceivable and monstrous crimes that prompted these bills. We pray for the victims and their families; we honor the bravery and nobility of the police officers; and we, too, seek a just punishment for the guilty. However, we believe that just punishment should not involve the taking of yet another life. It was surely no accident that life was the first of the inalienable rights affirmed by our nations Declaration of Independence. The right to life is the foundation of all the human rights we possess. Unfortunately, in our time, the value of human life and human dignity is constantly under attack. During the century we just concluded, we saw war and bloodshed on a scale never before witnessed in human history. We live in a culture where the taking of the most innocent of lives those of unborn children in the womb is tolerated, made legal, and even encouraged, and a world where the elderly and infirm are subtly encouraged not to be a drain on their families or society. In the face of all this, it is evident that to restore what Pope John Paul II called a culture of life, our society ought to employ the strongest measures available. One of the measures available is the restriction and eventual abolition of the death penalty. By no means does this assertion of the respect for the life of criminals minimize the requirement that justice be done to them through proportionate punishment, nor does it dissolve the distinction between innocence and guilt. Indeed, the abolition of the death penalty does not jeopardize our states ability to protect people from dangerous criminals, as we have available to us the sentence of life without the possibility of parole (which the minority report of the Commission to Study the Death Penalty in New Hampshire referred to as death by incarceration). Instead, our states refusal to kill capital offenders would be a sign of the states confident moral integrity, not of its weakness to govern and protect. When the state ends a human life although a non-lethal alternative exists, it suggests that society can end violence with more violence. We know that this is not the case. As Pope Benedict XVI has said, killing the guilty one is not the way to rebuild justice and reconcile society. On the contrary, there is the risk that the spirit of revenge is fueled and that the seeds of new violence are sown. We therefore should end the use of the death penalty, not only for what it does to those who are executed, but for what it does to all of society. By having the courage and rectitude to spare the lives of those who are demonstrably guilty and, instead, imprison them for life, we develop and support a culture appreciative and protective of the value of every human person. By refusing to expand the death penalty in this state, we proclaim a moral goodness that moves beyond the influence of reaction to chilling crimes and toward a civil ethic that respects the intrinsic value of every human person from conception to natural death. For these reasons, HB 147 and HB 162 should not become law. Finally, in the midst of all our discussion on legislation, let us never fail to express our support for the families and friends of victims of terrible crimes. Let us show our gratitude and appreciation for members of law enforcement who bring criminals to justice. Let us all as Pope John Paul II challenged, commit to live as people of life and for life. . John B. McCormack is bishop of Manchester. Francis J. Christian is auxiliary bishop of Manchester. Indexing (document details) Subjects: Capital punishment,   Violence Author(s): Anonymous Document types: Editorial Section: OPINION Publication title: The Union Leader.  Manchester, N.H.:  Feb 2, 2011.   pg. A.7 Source type: Newspaper ISSN: 07455798 ProQuest document ID: 2256312851 Text Word Count 672 Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2256312851sid=1Fmt=3clientId=74379RQT=309VName=PQD ANOTHER VIEW: Do not expand New Hampshires death penalty.  (2011,  February  2). The Union Leader,A.7.   Retrieved February 4, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID:  2256312851). ethal Injection and the F.D.A.; [Editorial] New York Times. (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jan 28, 2011. pg. A.30 Abstract (Summary) When it reaffirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment three years ago, a splintered Supreme Court said it believed lethal injection carried neither substantial nor objectively intolerable risk of inflicting serious harm.   Ã‚ »   Jump to indexing (document details) Full Text   (412   words) Copyright New York Times Company Jan 28, 2011 Capital punishment means lethal injection. The administration of a barbiturate as part of a fatal dose of drugs is meant to render a convict unconscious before other drugs stop his or her breathing and heart so the execution can somehow be construed by a judge as being neither cruel nor unusual. Sodium thiopental is at the heart of this story. A fast- and short-acting general anesthetic, it has been used to put convicts under and make executions methodical. For more than a year, however, a shortage of the drug has widened the gap between the reality of carrying out executions and support for them in American law. In October, a majority of the Supreme Court wrongly insisted there was no evidence that the shortage had any bearing on whether an execution can be done constitutionally. Now the evidence is impossible to ignore. We strongly oppose capital punishment on many grounds. Even with judicial blessing, the conduct of executions in this country is a shambles. In Arizona and Georgia, the sodium thiopental used in executions has possibly been ineffective and almost certainly been illegal. It came from Dream Pharma, an unlicensed British supplier, run from a driving school. The batches carried a date of 2006. They were likely made by a company in Austria that went out of business. The drug is said to be effective for only a year. As a foreign-made drug without approval by the Food and Drug Administration, it is prohibited by federal statute. The F.D.A. initially suspected the drug from Dream Pharma of being adulterated or mislabeled and refused to let it be imported. Then it let the drug enter the country but with the warning that the agency hadnt reviewed the drugs identity, safety, effectiveness, purity or any other characteristics. This month, the F.D.A. stated: Reviewing substances imported or used for the purpose of state-authorized lethal injection clearly falls outside of F.D.A.s explicit public health role. In the meantime, the only American manufacturer of sodium thiopental formerly described as F.D.A.-approved has announced it will no longer make the drug. It planned to produce the drug in Italy, but the Italian government has said it wont permit the drugs export for use in executions. When it reaffirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment three years ago, a splintered Supreme Court said it believed lethal injection carried neither substantial nor objectively intolerable risk of inflicting serious harm. How can the justices be confident in that conclusion now? Indexing (document details) Subjects: Capital punishment,   Anesthesia,   Supreme Court decisions,   Editorials Capital punishment Companies: Food Drug AdministrationFDA Document types: Editorial Column Name: Editorial Section: A Publication title: New York Times.  (Late Edition (East Coast)).  New York, N.Y.:  Jan 28, 2011.   pg. A.30 Source type: Newspaper ISSN: 03624331 ProQuest document ID: 2250674721 Text Word Count 412 Document URL: http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2250674721sid=2Fmt=3clientId=74379RQT=309VName=PQD Lethal Injection and the F.D.A  :[Editorial].  (2011,  January  28). New York Times   (Late Edition (east Coast)),   p.  A.30.   Retrieved February 4, 2011, from Banking Information Source. (Document ID:  2250674721).