Abstract
The death penalty has always been a source of contention towards most people in the United States – some agree with it, some do not. No matter one's opinion on whether it should be allowed, this poster presentation will give an in-depth analysis and present various visualizations of information regarding the convicted felons that have been sentenced to capital punishment in the United States from 1976-2016. Variables such as gender, age, and race will be explored to create some insight on some of the most infamous killers in United States history. Though looking at the demographics of these individuals and their victims is a main message, the states that convict and sentence them to death has a story to tell as well – is it surprising that Texas has executed over twice the amount of any other state in the U.S. during this time-period? Or that over half of the states do allow the death penalty as a way of sentencing? Finally, when it comes to these convicted felons, there is information that is not always "well-known" to the public. For example, individuals that have been sentenced to death have an option of "volunteering", meaning that they are willing to expedite their death penalty process by eliminating all their required, by law, appeals. This project investigated which demographic factors are related to this decision. When individuals get sentenced to death when they're younger, they are more likely to volunteer to expedite their death. Additionally, the method of execution used in the state they're convicted in shows that the odds of a death row inmate volunteering are more likely when they will be killed using the firing squad in comparison to lethal injection. Overall, I will be discussing the demographics of the individuals that have been executed, information regarding their victims since all were convicted of felony murder, the methods of execution used, the location of the executions, and the volunteer status of everyone that was executed in this 40-year period.
College
College of Science & Engineering
Department
Mathematics & Statistics
Campus
Winona
First Advisor/Mentor
Tisha Hooks
Start Date
4-19-2023 9:00 AM
End Date
4-19-2023 10:00 AM
Presentation Type
Poster Session
Format of Presentation or Performance
In-Person
Session
1a=9am-10am
Poster Number
10
Included in
A Closer Look at the Death Penalty in the United States
The death penalty has always been a source of contention towards most people in the United States – some agree with it, some do not. No matter one's opinion on whether it should be allowed, this poster presentation will give an in-depth analysis and present various visualizations of information regarding the convicted felons that have been sentenced to capital punishment in the United States from 1976-2016. Variables such as gender, age, and race will be explored to create some insight on some of the most infamous killers in United States history. Though looking at the demographics of these individuals and their victims is a main message, the states that convict and sentence them to death has a story to tell as well – is it surprising that Texas has executed over twice the amount of any other state in the U.S. during this time-period? Or that over half of the states do allow the death penalty as a way of sentencing? Finally, when it comes to these convicted felons, there is information that is not always "well-known" to the public. For example, individuals that have been sentenced to death have an option of "volunteering", meaning that they are willing to expedite their death penalty process by eliminating all their required, by law, appeals. This project investigated which demographic factors are related to this decision. When individuals get sentenced to death when they're younger, they are more likely to volunteer to expedite their death. Additionally, the method of execution used in the state they're convicted in shows that the odds of a death row inmate volunteering are more likely when they will be killed using the firing squad in comparison to lethal injection. Overall, I will be discussing the demographics of the individuals that have been executed, information regarding their victims since all were convicted of felony murder, the methods of execution used, the location of the executions, and the volunteer status of everyone that was executed in this 40-year period.
