Journal 5

Read the following article and then answer the questions below:

(Reuters) - A legal challenge to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court to the method of lethal injection has led to a "creeping moratorium" on the death penalty in America.

The appeal by two Kentucky death row inmates holds that the three-chemical cocktail used in lethal injections inflicts unnecessary pain and suffering.

Following are some facts and figures about the death penalty in the United States since 1977, when executions resumed following the lifting of a ban on the practice by the U.S. Supreme Court the previous year.

- There have been 1,099 executions in the United States since 1977. The peak year was 1999, when 98 were carried out while no inmates were put to death in 1978 and 1980.

- If the "creeping moratorium" holds until the end of the year, 42 people will be executed in the United States in 2007, the lowest number since 1994 when 31 were put to death.

- 2005, the last year for which data is available, saw 128 death sentences imposed, the lowest number over the past three decades. The peak year was 1996 when 317 were handed down.

- The death penalty is sanctioned by 37 of the 50 states and the U.S. government and the military. Lethal injection is the main method used by all of the death penalty states except for Nebraska which uses the electric chair.

- The standard method involves administering three separate chemicals: sodium pentothal, an anesthetic to make the inmate unconscious; pancuronium bromide, which paralyzes all muscles except the heart; and then potassium chloride, which stops the heart, causing death.

- Texas has been by far the most active death penalty state in the post-1976 era with 405 executions. Virginia is a distant second at 98.

1. Regardless of your opinion on the death penalty, list three pro's and three con's to it's use in the United States. Explain your answers.

2. Do you believe that the death penalty is an acceptable sentence for crimes in the United States? Why or why not? Explain.

3. Is the death penalty, in your opinion, Constitutional? Is it consistent with the teachings of the Catholic Church? Does your religious affiliation in any way influence your opinion on the death penalty? Explain.