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AB1 “'Death Penalty Has No Place in 21St Century,' Declares UN Chief.” Un.Org. United Nations, 2 July 2014. Web. 24 Marc

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AB1 “'Death Penalty Has No Place in 21St Century,' Declares UN Chief.” Un.Org. United Nations, 2 July 2014. Web. 24 Marc AB1 “‘Death penalty has no place in 21st century,’ declares UN chief.” un.org. United Nations, 2 July 2014. Web. 24 March 2016. AB2 Sherwood, Roxanna and Lauren Effron. “Convicted Serial Killer Tommy Lynn Sells Executed in Texas.” Abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures, 3 April 2014. Web. 24 March 2016. AB3 “State Execution Rates.” deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 23 March 2016. AB4 “Texas.” deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 23 March 2016. AB5 “The Case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. The American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 25 March 2016. AB6 Walpin, Ned. “Why is Texas #1 in Executions?” pbs.org. WGBH educational foundation-- Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 23 March 3016. “‘Death penalty has no place in 21st century,’ declares UN chief.” un.org. United Nations, 2 July 2014. Web. 24 March 2016. URL: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=48192#.VvSfWa6rSYU About the UN: “The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter” (taken from the UN “Overview” page: http://www.un.org/en/sections/about-un/overview/index.html). There is no author—however, the UN—United Nations—is an international, well- recognized, and credible entity. About the primary speaker: “Ban Ki-moon is the eighth Secretary-General of the United Nations. His priorities have been to mobilize world leaders around a set of new global challenges, from climate change and economic upheaval to pandemics and increasing pressures involving food, energy and water. He has sought to be a bridge-builder, to give voice to the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people, and to strengthen the Organization itself” (taken from the Biography page on the Ban Ki-moon via the UN website-- http://www.un.org/sg/biography.shtml) Overview/Summary: Overall, the UN Secretary General delivered clear commentary on the disdain for capital punishment. In addition to the information included below, he cited that “Against such a backdrop, he said that over the past two years, OHCHR* has convened a series of important global panel events on the death penalty, focusing on wrongful convictions, deterrence and public opinion, and discrimination. Specifically, discriminatory practices in the imposition of the death penalty further reinforce the calls for its universal abolition.” * Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Use: provides anti-death penalty global perspective. Main quote to use: “The death penalty has no place in the 21st century, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon declared today, calling on all States take concrete steps towards abolishing or no longer practicing this form of punishment.” Comments from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “Together, we can finally end this cruel and inhumane practice everywhere around the world … Best practices and challenges in implementing a moratorium on the death penalty.” “Looking ahead to the next session of the General Assembly, he [United Nations Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon] therefore called on all States to take action in three critical areas: ratify the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; support the resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty; and take concrete steps towards abolishing or no longer practicing this form of punishment.” Sherwood, Roxanna and Lauren Effron. “Convicted Serial Killer Tommy Lynn Sells Executed in Texas.” Abcnews.go.com. ABC News Internet Ventures, 3 April 2014. Web. 24 March 2016. About ABC News: “The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (stylized in its logo as abc since 1957) is an American commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the Disney–ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is part of the Big Three television networks” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Broadcasting_Company) About Roxanna Sherwood: “Whether delving into major investigations, traveling to all corners of the world, or covering big entertainment stories, Roxanna is a superb storyteller. A 19-year veteran of ABC News, Roxanna has worked across the news division-most recently as a senior producer at "20/20," overseeing concept hours and stories that have contributed greatly to our current success in primetime. She also was responsible for field coordination on major breaking news events including the Newtown school tragedy and the Boston bombings” (http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/09/roxanna-sherwood-named-executive-producer-of- abc-news-nightline/) About Lauren Effron: “Lauren Effron is a digital producer for ABC News' late night news show, "Nightline," and ABCNews.com. She is responsible for creating content for the show pages and special projects, as well as filing for general assignment news” (http://abcnews.go.com/Author/Lauren_Effron) Summary: The article details “Sells, 49, was convicted of killing 13-year-old Katy Harris while she slept in her Del Rio, Texas, home. Her murder landed Sells on death row, but he has been linked to at least 17 other killings and claims he has killed as dozens more.” It details specific incidences of the Dardeen case Sells confessed to as well as the Harris case he was convicted of (Texas), including the anecdotal evidence from survivor Krystal Surles. How to Use: The Sells case illustrates ‘heinous crimes’ and lack of remorse. This is a useful piece of evidence if I want to argue the death penalty should be legal in Texas. What I Could Use: Tommy Lynn Sells: Executed in Texas on April 3, 2014 - Sells “has been linked to at least 17 other killings and claims he has killed as dozens more.” - Sells' attorneys said, "It is our belief that how we choose to execute prisoners reflects on us as a society. Without transparency about lethal injections, particularly the source and purity of drugs to be used, it is impossible to ensure that executions are humane and constitutional. It is our hope that the U.S. Supreme Court and the Texas courts will ultimately agree that we must have transparency about the execution process in order to ensure that prisoners are able to protect their Eighth Amendment rights." - From Sells: “I am hatred. When you look at me, you look at hate," Sells said in 2010. "I don't know what love is. Two words I don't like to use is 'love' and 'sorry,' because I'm about hate." - “Sells appeared nonchalant when asked about the victims he had slain, and spoke very matter-of-factly when recounting his killing methods: beatings, stabbings, strangling. He even raped many of his targets before slicing their throats.” - Per the interview Sells detailed the murder of 30-year-old Eileen Dardeen (1987-- Indiana) and her family. Dardeen was more than seven months pregnant—“ Sells allegedly beat her to death. During the attack, she went into premature labor and gave birth to a baby girl. Investigators determined the newborn was alive when she was born, but was later found bludgeoned to death, as was Dardeen's 3-year-old son.” - Sells’s rationale for the Dardeen murders: “I didn't want them to live through the pain I lived through.” - Why on Texas Death Row: “Inmate number 999367 sits on Death Row in Huntsville, Texas, awaiting execution for raping and murdering 13-year-old Kaylene Harris in 1999.” (http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/serial-killer-texas-inmate-admits-to- dardeen-slaying-and-lawrenceville/article_b3148c0b-141c-5cdb-830d- 04d2bdf5adc1.html) “State Execution Rates.” deathpenaltyinfo.org. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 23 March 2016. URL: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-execution-rates About Source: “The Death Penalty Information Center is a national non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. Founded in 1990, the Center promotes informed discussion of the death penalty by preparing in-depth reports, conducting briefings for journalists, and serving as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center releases an annual report on the death penalty, highlighting significant developments and featuring the latest statistics. … The Center is funded through the generosity of individual donors and foundations, including the Roderick MacArthur Justice Center, the Open Society Foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies, and the Death Penalty Project, a Proteus Action League initiative” (from Death Penalty Information Center “About DPIC” page). About the Author/Perspective/Bias: The overall source is strongly credible and backed by legitimate/credible organizations. However, the sponsors tend to be more aligned with commentary on the flaws and errors of the criminal justice system—i.e. anti-death penalty. While I don’t see any direct statements re: being anti-death penalty, I do feel like this is the undercurrent of the site. So, one would need to be careful of any statements made/biased perspectives. Scope/Summary: yet, I am particularly looking at the “State Execution Rates” page which lists the rates of execution by State between “Cumulative Executions: 1976-Februray 11, 2015.” This is a chart of all the States and ranks them by the rate of “Executions per Capita.” How I’ll Use It: the information will help provide concrete evidence showing comparison of execution rates between all the States—Texas is clearly higher than ALL others. Notable Information: Oklahoma is actually ranked first—with a population of 3,751,351 and an execution rate of 112; this is the highest “Executions per Capita (x10,000)” with a total of 0.299 of the State population executed.
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