Capital Punishment

Capital Punishment

The topic discussed in this book was on the subject of capital punishment. capital punishment is the sentence of death for the commission of a crime. The author, JoAnn Bren Guernsey, covers this topic very well. She gives examples as to what has happened with different people and different cases in the past. She explains different peoples jobs involving capital punishment such as, judges, executioners, lawyers, attorneys, and prison guards. She shows how different states in the U.S. deal with capital punishment and how they deal with people under the age of 18 when they commit such a crime. The author explains how punishment are dealt with in the State Court System and the Federal Court System. The book also explains people's feelings when someone they love is murdered, whether they believe the criminal being justified or seeking revenge on the criminal. She could have discussed different people's opinions on capital punishment in the United States instead of only discussing what it is. The book also gives different situations of people being punished to death row when they may have been innocent or committed the crime when they were a minor.

The point of view in the book came from many different people or sides giving their opinions on capital punishment. JoAnn Bren Guernsey is in favor of capital punishment because she believes that if there is any chance of preventing future homicides by executing convicted murderers, then we should take the chance and do it.

This book doesn't clearly state it's thesis. I had to pick through many different opinions and real life examples from the book.

The nature of the book's content is all factual. The facts go along in order with the story in a way to best fit the current situation being explained. All the opinions and facts in the book support the thesis. The author could have better explained the topic of capital punishment instead of quoting people and listing their opinions on the subject.

JoAnn Bren Guernsey's conclusion of the book is that "Death is God's work, not a man's." Her conclusion agrees with her thesis in that capital punishment is fair punishment in that if you take a life yours should be taken away also.

This book has helped me understand the topic in a way that some criminals are not always