My research question is, "Why should the death penalty be abolished?" I am a criminal justice and pre-law major, so I have learned about the death penalty in some of my classes and it is very interesting to me. I firmly believe every defendant has the right to a fair trial in a court of law and the complications that often arise with a death penalty case make it almost impossible for that to be achieved. I plan to focus my research question on the legal issues for example, race and demographics, that may influence which defendants receive the death penalty, resulting in an unfair trial. Since I have already learned some information about the death penalty from classes I have taken for my major, I believe I am qualified to research this topic. I support an end to the death penalty because I view it as an insufficient use of punishment in our modern day society and that is why I want to research reasons against its continuation. 

I started my research on the death penalty by looking for general information and background, I went to the Death Penalty Information Center and found a report that was written by the previous director of the center and decided to use it as one of my sources. The report discusses the history of the death penalty and how it is enforced in the modern day criminal justice system. This source targets the flaws of the death penalty that have been occurring since it was re-instated in 1976 and demonstrates the arbitrariness of the sentence in terms of how it is decided. There are many factors that can influence a court case; race and geography are two that are discussed in detail in this source. Another factor that may impact a court case that is analyzed in this source is the location of the trials; the report cites specific counties, states and regions in the United States that implement this punishment more frequently than others. The majority of the evidence in this source displays the problems that are associated with the death penalty, but the report is not intended to persuade the reader to favor the end of the death penalty. The purpose of the Death Penalty Information Center is to inform people about the death penalty, as opposed to convincing them if it is right or wrong, therefore this source is primarily unbiased. As I previously stated, the author of this report was the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a position he held for twenty-three years. He is very knowledgeable about the subject and teaches a course on the death penalty at the Catholic University of Law. Overall, this source has provided background knowledge and relative evidence for why the death penalty should not be legal anymore. 

Another source I found when searching for general information about the punishment of the death penalty is an article from Time magazine titled, "The Death of the Death Penalty". The article's purpose is to convey to the reader why, eventually, the death penalty will be abolished in the U.S. The author's claim is supported by evidence from court case examples, death row statistics, cost statistics and quotes from judge's who have made rulings on decisions regarding the death penalty. This source also aims to persuade the reader to agree that the death penalty should no longer be used. The author of this article, David Von Drehle has worked as an editor-at-large for Time magazine and he has also written a book about the history of the death penalty. The author is slightly biased because it is an argumentative article that favors an end to the death penalty, but the statistics he utilizes are still credible.  "Death of the Death Penalty" will provide my paper with reasons for why the death penalty is no longer worth using as a punishment in the United States criminal justice system. 

When I was investigating my first source from the Death Penalty Information Center, I discovered another report that would support my paper and boost the logos aspect of it. The report compiles statistics, which are the main evidence, regarding the use of the death penalty in the year 2015. This is a valuable source because it is extremely current and provides a general outlook on how the death penalty has been implemented over the past year. The report analyzes and illustrates information pertaining to current death penalty statistics and how they differ from statistics in years past. The source is credible because the Death Penalty Information Center is centered on gathering information regarding the death penalty and compiles a report every year that provides new and current statistics about the death penalty. Since the report came from the information center, it is not bias and will be a great source for statistics in my paper. As of now, I have not yet found the author of the report, but the report, as a whole is the product of the Death Penalty Information Center and the information they gathered. The statistics in the report for the year 2015 show a decrease in execution rates, execution sentences and a drop in states that are using the death penalty. Those facts may be one way I can address my opposing audience because although the death penalty is decreasing in frequency, it is imperative that it stop completely. 

My research question is arguable because many people advocate for the death penalty to continue, but my goal will be to convince readers, through my research, that it is no longer necessary, justified, or fair to use. Also, as I have mentioned before, there are many factors that can influence the court's decision and many people fail to consider them when deciding whether or not to support the death penalty. I will be sure to point out those factors in my research paper. As of now, I have only found arguments that are against the death penalty or offer statistics that favor the end of the death penalty. Many of my sources are not arguments, but rather they point out the flaws of the death penalty, therefore they do not conflict with one another. I will continue investigating articles that support the death penalty but also search for sources that refute the death penalty, so that I am able to acknowledge my opposition's point of view. I believe I have an arguable research question that I am interested and qualified to research and I will continue to find evidence to support my argument that the death penalty should be abolished because it is unfair from a legal viewpoint. 

