Touchstone 3.2: Draft an Argumentative Research EssayASSIGNMENT: Using your outline and annotated bibliography from Touchstones 1.2 and 2.2, draft a 6-8 page argumentative research essay on your chose
Owie purity
Sophia Learning
English Composition II
March 6, 2024
Annotated Bibliography
Death Penalty Information Center. (2021). Enduring Injustice: the Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty. Retrieved from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/reports/enduring-injustice-the-persistence-of-racial-discrimination-in-the-u-s-death-penalty.
The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) provides a comprehensive analysis of racial discrimination within the U.S. death penalty system. It highlights historical contexts and ongoing issues, presenting evidence that suggests the death penalty is applied disproportionately against minorities, particularly where the victims are white. Their 2021 report uncovers the disproportionate sentencing of individuals condemned for killing white victims, compared to those who kill black victims. The publication synthesizes statistical studies, legal challenges, and case examples to illustrate how racial bias persists in the administration of the death penalty, despite legal safeguards. This source is authoritative, with methodologies and findings that align with peer-reviewed evidence, like Pierce and Radelet’s study in Crime & Delinquency. I will use this report to anchor my thesis statement and argument, providing statistical evidence and expert analyses that illuminate the extent of racial bias in capital sentencing.
(credible website)
Pierce, G. L., & Radelet, M. L. (2002). The Impact of Legally Inappropriate Factors on Death Sentencing for California Homicides, 1990-1999. Crime & Delinquency, 48(1), 64–94.
Pierce and Radelet’s article provides an in depth study on the role of race in death sentencing decisions in California from 1990-1999. Their findings support the claim that defendants convicted of killing white victims are more likely to receive the death penalty than those whose victims were black. This peer-reviewed article will be instrumental in my research as it gives credibility to the thesis by providing scholarly proof of the persistence of racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty. The authors find evidence suggesting that legally irrelevant factors do indeed play a role in death sentencing, raising serious concerns about fairness and discrimination within the legal system. The research contributes to the broader debate on the application of the death penalty and exposes systemic biases that may undermine the ethos of equal justice under the law in California's criminal justice system.
(peer-reviewed journal)
Reflection
1. Recording accurate bibliographic information and summarizing sources ensures that I have a useful repository to draw upon when writing my essay. My annotated bibliography reflects this careful recording with clear summaries and statements of intent for each source’s use. For instance, the DPIC report will provide statistical grounding, while Pierce and Radelet’s study offers academic reinforcement of the racial bias claims.
2. The most helpful strategy in searching for credible sources was the use of scholarly databases and verifying the peer review status of journals. Referring to authoritative reports from specialized agencies like the DPIC also proved invaluable.
3. The main difficulty I encountered was ensuring the relevance and up-to-date nature of the sources considering the evolving discourse on capital punishment and racial bias. To overcome this, I focused on recent reports from the DPIC and ensured that historical accounts from sources like Pierce and Radelet were used in context and aligned with current data.
