A death penalty case passes through four chapters. Mr. Dow discusses the “make up” of a death penalty case to show how much time and effort goes into these cases that could be prevented. The first chapter is the murder of a human being, the murderer’s conviction, and sentencing to death row. The second chapter is a legal process known as a “state habeas corpus” appeal. The third chapter includes the process known as the “federal habeas corpus” appeal. Finally, the fourth chapter is what ultimately ends in the execution of the criminal (Dow 3:44). He goes on to say that 80% of the children that experienced a rough upbringing will see the juvenile court system. That is quite a large number. In Dow’s words, “80% of the people on death row are people who came from the same sort of dysfunctional family that Will did” (Dow 8:34). The reason Dow discusses the importance of the four chapters of a death penalty case is because he goes on to say there are 5 chapters of a criminal’s life that come before the 4 chapters of a death penalty case (Dow 11:03). Dow stated that these 5 chapters of a criminal’s life are all points of intervention (Dow 11:03). Two modes of intervention that Dow spoke about are early childhood care for economically disadvantaged and otherwise troubled children at no cost to the families, and providing schools specifically for these economically disadvantages children (Dow 12:41). Dow also spent time analyzing two graphs showing the number of executions per year in Texas and the number of death sentences per year from the years 1980-2010. The first graph proved his point that there has not been a sustained decline in the number of annual executions in Texas (Dow 5:34). The second graph showed that the state of Texas executes around 40 people per year and that number has not changed much in the past 15 years (Dow 5:34). This was impactful in Dow’s discussion because he goes on to
A death penalty case passes through four chapters. Mr. Dow discusses the “make up” of a death penalty case to show how much time and effort goes into these cases that could be prevented. The first chapter is the murder of a human being, the murderer’s conviction, and sentencing to death row. The second chapter is a legal process known as a “state habeas corpus” appeal. The third chapter includes the process known as the “federal habeas corpus” appeal. Finally, the fourth chapter is what ultimately ends in the execution of the criminal (Dow 3:44). He goes on to say that 80% of the children that experienced a rough upbringing will see the juvenile court system. That is quite a large number. In Dow’s words, “80% of the people on death row are people who came from the same sort of dysfunctional family that Will did” (Dow 8:34). The reason Dow discusses the importance of the four chapters of a death penalty case is because he goes on to say there are 5 chapters of a criminal’s life that come before the 4 chapters of a death penalty case (Dow 11:03). Dow stated that these 5 chapters of a criminal’s life are all points of intervention (Dow 11:03). Two modes of intervention that Dow spoke about are early childhood care for economically disadvantaged and otherwise troubled children at no cost to the families, and providing schools specifically for these economically disadvantages children (Dow 12:41). Dow also spent time analyzing two graphs showing the number of executions per year in Texas and the number of death sentences per year from the years 1980-2010. The first graph proved his point that there has not been a sustained decline in the number of annual executions in Texas (Dow 5:34). The second graph showed that the state of Texas executes around 40 people per year and that number has not changed much in the past 15 years (Dow 5:34). This was impactful in Dow’s discussion because he goes on to