exam 4 - final!

Question 1

What are two common arguments in favor of the death penalty?

Answer 1

Moral imperative (‘eye for an eye’) and providing closure for victims’ families.

Question 2

What are two common arguments against the death penalty?

Answer 2

Cost and the risk of executing innocent people.

Question 3

What did Atkins v. Virginia (2002) decide?

Answer 3

It is unconstitutional to execute individuals with developmental disabilities.

Question 4

What is Blackstone’s Ratio?

Answer 4

‘It is better that 10 guilty persons go free than that 1 innocent person suffer.’

Question 5

Does capital punishment deter homicide?

Answer 5

Most criminologists agree it does not have a deterrent effect.

Question 6

Name five countries that still use the death penalty.

Answer 6

China, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan.

Question 7

How many people have been exonerated from death row since 1976?

Answer 7

200 people.

Question 8

How many death sentences were handed out in the U.S. in 2016?

Answer 8

30.

Question 9

What is considered a violation of the Eighth Amendment in capital punishment?

Answer 9

Executing the insane or developmentally disabled, or using cruel methods.

Question 10

What does exoneration mean?

Answer 10

To clear someone from an accusation; to free from guilt or blame.

Question 11

What is factual innocence?

Answer 11

When someone did not commit the crime for which they were convicted.

Question 12

What was the outcome of Ford v. Wainwright (1986)?

Answer 12

The insane cannot be executed; it’s an Eighth Amendment violation.

Question 13

What did Furman v. Georgia (1972) establish?

Answer 13

The death penalty was applied arbitrarily and violated the Eighth Amendment.

Question 14

What did Gregg v. Georgia (1976) establish?

Answer 14

permitted most states to resume executions but made dp vs life a separate trial

Question 15

What did Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber (1947) decide?

Answer 15

A second execution attempt is not double jeopardy or cruel and unusual.

Question 16

What are major causes of death row exonerations?

Answer 16

Mistaken identity, perjury, false confessions, bad forensic evidence.

Question 17

What was the issue in McCleskey v. Kemp (1987)?

Answer 17

Whether the death penalty was racially discriminatory.

Question 18

What are the five methods of execution used in the U.S.?

Answer 18

Lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, hanging, firing squad.

Question 19

What was the decision in Roper v. Simmons (2005)?

Answer 19

Execution of offenders who were under 18 at the time of the crime is unconstitutional.

Question 20

What states favor the death penalty the most?

Answer 20

Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, and others with high execution rates.

Question 21

What are the two main private prison companies?

Answer 21

CoreCivic and GEO Group.

Question 22

What makes running prisons expensive?

Answer 22

Long stays, appeals, supervision, infrastructure, and staffing.

Question 23

What percentage of juveniles are in private facilities?

Answer 23

32%.

Question 24

What are common payment structures in private prison contracts?

Answer 24

Per diem rate per inmate or guaranteed occupancy clauses.

Question 25

What is performance-based contracting?

Answer 25

Payments tied to measurable outcomes (e.g., reduced recidivism).

Question 26

How do private prisons differ from public ones?

Answer 26

Private prisons are run for profit and may have lower transparency and oversight.

Question 27

What is private probation?

Answer 27

Probation services contracted out to for-profit companies.

Question 28

What is an RFP (Request for Proposal)?

Answer 28

A document issued by the government asking companies to bid on a project.

Question 29

How many states have zero private correctional facilities?

Answer 29

19 states.

Question 30

When did the rise of private, for-profit correctional facilities begin?

Answer 30

In the 1980s.

Question 31

What do corrections workers' unions do?

Answer 31

They lobby for higher pay and oppose prison reform efforts.

Question 32

What is Eastern State Penitentiary now?

Answer 32

A historical site; once the oldest prison in the U.S.

Question 33

Who pushes for more incarceration?

Answer 33

Victim advocacy groups, prison unions, rural legislators.

Question 34

What is the prison industrial complex?

Answer 34

A network of interests (business and political) that profit from incarceration.

Question 35

What are public attitudes toward incarceration since 2000?

Answer 35

Increasing dissatisfaction and support for alternatives to incarceration.

Question 36

Why do rural legislators tend to support incarceration?

Answer 36

Prisons bring jobs and they represent predominantly conservative, white districts.

Question 37

Who determines sentencing policy?

Answer 37

Legislative and executive branches.

Question 38

What is 'Smart on Crime'?

Answer 38

An approach that favors rehabilitation and alternatives for nonviolent offenders.

Question 39

What does being 'Tough on Crime' mean?

Answer 39

Supporting harsh penalties and high incarceration rates.

Question 40

What percentage of Americans supported reducing the prison population in a national survey?

Answer 40

81% of Democrats, 71% of Independents, 54% of Republicans.

Question 41

What did the Affordable Care Act (ACA) do for inmates and former inmates?

Answer 41

Expanded Medicaid, reducing infectious disease spread and emergency room visits by improving access to healthcare, pauses coverage on prisoners instead of canceling it.

Question 42

What was the significance of Clark v. California (1996)?

Answer 42

Required prisons to provide equal access to programs for disabled inmates.

Question 43

What is compassionate release?

Answer 43

A policy allowing elderly or terminally ill inmates early release due to medical and cost concerns.

Question 44

What effect did deinstitutionalization have on the prison system?

Answer 44

It shifted the care of the mentally ill to jails and prisons, making them the largest providers of mental health care.

Question 45

Why is the elderly prison population increasing?

Answer 45

Aging U.S. population, long sentences, stricter parole, and advances in medical science.

Question 46

What age is considered elderly in prison, and why?

Answer 46

Age 45 due to premature aging caused by incarceration conditions.

Question 47

What percentage of inmates have functional impairments?

Answer 47

33% have learning, vision, hearing, or mobility impairments; 8–15% have multiple.

Question 48

Why are prisons and jails ill-equipped as health care providers?

Answer 48

Few facilities have trained medical staff, infectious disease protocols, or electronic health records.

Question 49

Who are “hot spotters” in the context of incarceration?

Answer 49

A small group of people who cycle repeatedly through the system, with high medical and incarceration costs.

Question 50

What is premature or accelerated aging in prison?

Answer 50

The faster physical and mental decline of inmates due to stress and poor health care in prison settings.

Question 51

What role does Medicaid play in correctional health?

Answer 51

Medicaid (expanded by the ACA) helps reduce disease spread and health care costs for inmates and ex-inmates.

Question 52

What is the mental health status of many prisoners before incarceration?

Answer 52

Over half have mental health problems; 13% attempted suicide; many suffer from insomnia, depression, or anger.

Question 53

What are some serious chronic medical conditions common in prison?

Answer 53

Diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and other long-term illnesses.

Question 54

What challenges do LGBTQIA+ individuals face in prison?

Answer 54

High rates of sexual victimization, discrimination, denial of health care, and difficulty accessing gender-affirming care.

Question 55

How much more likely are transgender prisoners to face sexual victimization?

Answer 55

13 times more likely than other inmates.