The Death Penalty: Arguments for Abolishment by Justice Paul Stevens

Running Head: POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Science
Name
Institution

POLITICAL SCIENCE 2
Political Science
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Summary of Justice Paul Steven Argument....................................................................................3
Death Penalty...................................................................................................................................5
What are his problems with the death penalty?...........................................................................5
What are the strengths and weaknesses of his arguments?..........................................................5
Does the Death Penalty violate the 8th Amendment?..................................................................6
How much, if any, is his view a result of his ideology?..............................................................6
Are views on the Death penalty necessarily ideological?............................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

POLITICAL SCIENCE 3
Introduction
John Paul Stevens who is a former Supreme Court judge published a groundbreaking
book that proposes six amendments to the Constitution. The premise of the book entitled “Six
Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution” provides six amendments on
how to change the Constitution. The death penalty has been seen a contentious issue in America
form many years and Steven argues that it should be abolished because it is unconstitutional. He
claimed that the current death penalty execution kills innocent citizens and it is a costly
undertaking and that there is the need to amend the 8th Amendment (Stevens, 2014). The paper
will examine the changes that Stevens proposed in his book and the issue of the death penalty
that he provided arguments on its abolishment in the United States.
Summary of Justice Paul Steven Argument
The first amendment that Stevens proposes is on the “Anti-Commandeering Rule” where
he claims that the United States cannot compel states to comply with the federal background
checks system. The amendment could reverse two crucial Supreme Court precedents that
include New York v. United States (1992), as well as Printz v. United States (1997) that will give
the federal government the authority to deputize state, as well as local officers to implement the
federal laws. This proposal will terminate the sovereignty of federal government in a manner that
the states will be needed to create and implement the federal regulations. This means that the
change will need states to furnish information essential for federal backgrounds checks (Stevens,
2014).