The Death Penalty in the United States Research Paper

The Death Penalty in the United States - Research Paper Example Opponents also assert that the practice is overtly costly and racially biased while not realizing the intended outcome. Proponents think it is neither cruel nor unusual, quite the opposite, they think it fair and just. The objective of this study is to discuss the moral and legal concerns that literally are a life and death issue and is a key barometer when measuring a cultures collective conscience. The ‘eye for an eye’ faction not only accepts but insists that the death penalty be sustained and has supporting rational to back up their argument which will be covered comprehensively in this discussion. It will also take into account the opponents’ reasoning concerning why it should be eliminated along with the legal precedents concerned in an effort to achieve a comprehensive view of the capital punishment debate. Legal speaking, capital punishment is not unusual, by definition, unless one acknowledges the racial bias that exists throughout the justice system. The law cannot define whether it is cruel or not. Cruelty can be defined only by the collective social conscious of a society. The legal interpretation of the combined ‘cruel and unusual’ is open to debate, to some extent but the general usage of the word ‘cruel’ refers to vicious punishments that cause extreme pain. Most legal scholars agree that punishments that include body dismemberment or torture are unquestionably classified as cruel. The term torture was evidently open for debate during the past decade but the word means essentially the same universally; causing unwanted physical or mental anguish. The word ‘unusual’ is normally understood to mean going beyond what is an equitable application of punishment for an offense. For instance, if ten people were ticketed for a traffic violation and judge fined nine of them $150 but one was charged $1500, this punishment would be considered ‘unusual.’ Taken together in the phrase, †˜prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment’ signifies that the penalty should be apportioned equitably according to the specific offense committed. A ‘life’ prison sentence is an acceptable punishment but not if this punishment was imposed for jaywalking, that would be an obviously unacceptable sentence imposition because it is considered excessive and extreme given the nature of the offense. Excessive is a term that is also open to broad interpretation in both the legal and public realm. Some would contend, for example, that any amount of time imposed for ‘crimes’ such as the possession of drugs, prostitution and gambling should be interpreted as excessive consequently ‘unusual.’ The Supreme Court has on many occasions judged the merits of the death penalty and this action is interpreted as punishment which is cruel and unusual by the Constitution. The Court has consistently ruled the language of the Eighth Amendment does not prohibit t he death sentence as punishment. The Constitution was meant to be and is a malleable document, however. The judicial interpretation of the Eighth Amendment has evolved to some extent throughout the years. Therefore the Court could potentially reverse this standpoint at a future time as result of changing societal values. For instance, whipping convicted criminals was routine until the late Eighteenth Century. This practice is now considered to be inappropriate because society’s attitude changed to define it as a ‘cruel’ punishment. With respect to capital punishment, however, â€Å"

Strategic HR Approach Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Strategic HR Approach - Research Paper Example I will discuss some of the solutions that I use to settle down issues within my management enterprise. It will also address some issues in employee safety and benefits. As the head of human resources; I have to evaluate the available resources in relation to the personnel required. Environmental analysis, evaluation, and formulation are also necessary for effective performance (Armstrong & Baron, 2002: 70). 1) Health and security of workers At one time, an employee had cancer and had to be hospitalized for two months, which consumed all her finances and left her with hospital bills to clear. As the head of human resource, I had to issue a statement to the finance department for them to release the finances. This was going to be dependent on the nature of output that she gave the enterprise. Since her performance was an asset to the organization, she got the cash. The rewards comparison to effort determines the eligibility of the workers to the institution. Such individuals, who help the organization towards achieving its goal, the enterprise have the obligation to maintain them and integrate them into the institution (Sharma, 2009: 98). Before employing workers, they sign an employment contract that entitles them to interests and other flexibility offers. Such benefits help cater for the employee needs. The government has also come up with enactments to ensure that workers get friendly working terms (Armstrong, 2008: 154). As the human resource director, I have the obligation to recruit new staff to the enterprise, and hence there are considerations to make including academic competence and readiness to work in a competitive environment before taking in new staff. 2) Effective relations between workers and supervisors Strategic management helps the institution realize its objective by ensuring proper maintenance of the workers. A change with the supervisors seemed necessary. Nevertheless, on changing the supervisor, more accidents were reported and the supervis or complained that the workers output was considerably low. As the head of personnel, I had to find a solution to help us regain our output and to motivate our workers on their performance. The supervisor lacked the skills to motivate the workers to improve their performance, and he should have noted that the people working were older which affected their performance. Leaders should not exert unnecessary pressure causing confusions and disrupting workers (Armstrong, 2008: 147). For effective management, an individual needs to be keen, committed with excellent problem solving skills and well equipped with the knowledge to help in understanding personal responsibilities clearly. I had to instruct the supervisor on how to handle our staff to avoid further accidents, which were due to tension among the workers. By training, giving orders, and detailing in a manner of performance helped the organization retain back to its production quantities that the supervisor improved with time after learning how to handle the personnel. It was impossible to lose all the experienced workers in the enterprise and hence the only strategy was to resolve on how to maintain both (Armstrong & Armstrong, 2011: 310). 3) Equality Punctuality in the job is quite noteworthy, and all personnel are subject to the rules irrespective of their positions or relations in the enterprise