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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), organization founded by Roger Baldwin and others in New York City in 1920 to champion constitutional liberties in the United States. The ACLU works to protect Americans' constitutional rights and freedoms as set forth in the U.S. Constitution and its amendments. The ACLU works in three basic areas: freedom of expression, conscience, and association; due process of law; and equality under the law.

The ACLU seeks to further particular aspects of civil liberties by affecting the outcome of specific legal cases in the courts. Since its founding the ACLU has initiated test cases as well as intervened in cases already in the courts. Thus, it may directly provide legal counsel in a case, or it may comment on the civil-liberties issues in a case by filing a "friend of the court" (amicus curiae) brief.

One of the ACLU's most famous test cases was the Scopes trial (1925), in which it supported the decision of a Tennessee science teacher, John T. Scopes, to defy a Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. It has been active in overturning censorship laws, often through test cases resulting from the deliberate purchase of banned material and consequent arrest and trial. The ACLU has not always succeeded in these trials, but the public airing of the issues has often led to success on appeal or in legislative reconsideration later. As a result of its efforts against censorship, such books as James Joyce's among others, could be imported into the United States. The ACLU provided defense counsel in the Sacco-Vanzetti case in 1921 and the Scottsboro case of 1931-35. One of the ACLU's most significant freedom-of-religion cases involved the defense in the late 1930s of Jehovah's Witnesses who refused, on the grounds of conscience, to allow their children to salute the flag in their public classrooms.

In the 1950s and '60s the ACLU handled cases questioning the constitutionality of loyalty oaths and the blacklisting of supposed left-wing "subversives." It also played a role in Supreme Court decisions banning prayer in public schools as a violation of the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state. In the 1960s the ACLU participated in cases that established the right of indigent defendants to legal counsel in criminal prosecutions, and in the same period, it was involved in decisions barring the use in court of evidence that was obtained through illegal searches or seizures by the police.

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The work of the ACLU is performed by thousands of volunteers and about 100 staff attorneys. The ACLU is headed by a national board of directors and is headquartered in New York City. In the early 21st century the ACLU claimed a membership of more than 500,000.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Brian Duignan, Senior Editor.

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American Civil Liberties Union

date

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American Civil Liberties Union | American organization

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American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), organization founded by Roger Baldwin and others in New York City in 1920 to champion constitutional liberties in the United States. The ACLU works to protect Americans' constitutional rights and freedoms as set forth in the U.S. Constitution and its

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David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., leads the National Institute of Justice - the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. NIJ provides objective and independent knowledge and tools to inform the decision-making of the criminal justice community to reduce crime and advance justice, particularly at the state and local levels.

Muhlhausen, a former research fellow in empirical policy analysis at the Heritage Foundation, has championed using rigorous, empirical research to formulate and evaluate government policies. Muhlhausen has testified frequently before Congress on the efficiency and effectiveness of various federal programs. He has been called most often by the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary to discuss how to improve policing strategies, prisoner reentry programs, and other important criminal justice programs.

Muhlhausen joined Heritage in 1999 after serving on the staff for the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he specialized in crime and juvenile justice policies. Prior to that, he was a manager at a juvenile correctional facility in Baltimore, Maryland.

He holds a doctorate in public policy from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and a bachelor's degree in political science and justice studies from Frostburg State University. For 11 years, Muhlhausen taught program evaluation and statistical methods to graduate students at George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government.

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David B. Muhlhausen, Ph.D., leads the National Institute of Justice - the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. NIJ is dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

U.S. News & World Report, online newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C., from 1933. It is known for its annual lists of rankings and its special single-topic issues.

Successfully imitating the general format pioneered by magazine, it was established in 1933 as a weekly magazine by the journalist David Lawrence as the United States News. It won general note for its thorough coverage of major news events in Washington, D.C., and the United States, often carrying the complete text of major speeches and documents emanating from the capital. In 1945 Lawrence founded World Report to treat world news as United States News treated domestic news. The two magazines merged in 1948. From its start, U.S. News & World Report had an editorial viewpoint somewhat more conservative than its larger rivals, Time and the American weekly newsmagazine , and unlike them it paid scant attention to sports and the arts, except as they might pertain to developing major political and economic stories. In 1962 Lawrence transferred ownership of U.S. News to its employees.

The magazine in 1983 launched a series of signature annual rankings beginning with a ranking of American colleges and universities. In the 21st century these rankings were based on such factors as academic peer reviews and student-to-faculty ratios. U.S. News was purchased by the Canadian-born American media and real-estate mogul Mort B. Zuckerman in 1984. The first rankings guidebook containing statistical data appeared on public newsstands as America's Best Colleges three years later, and the series continued to expand with America's Best Hospitals (1990) and America's Best Graduate Schools (1994). U.S. News established an online presence in 1995, providing the reader with a multimedia experience that in the early 21st century included breaking news and blogs. The magazine also continued to expand its series of rankings with the launch of America's Best Leaders (2005), America's Best Health Plans (2005), and Best Places to Retire (2007), among others. In 2008 U.S. News moved from weekly to monthly publication, and in 2011 it discontinued its regular print edition, shifting its focus toward online publication.

Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content.

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Washington, D.C., city and capital of the United States of America. It is coextensive with the District of Columbia (the city is often referred to as simply D.C.) and is located on the northern shore of the Potomac River at the river's navigation head-that...

Time, a measured or measurable period, a continuum that lacks spatial dimensions. Time is of philosophical interest and is also the subject of mathematical and scientific investigation....

United States, country in North America, a federal republic of 50 states. Besides the 48 conterminous states that occupy the middle latitudes of the continent, the United States includes the state of Alaska, at the northwestern extreme of North America, and the island state of Hawaii, in the...

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U.S. News & World Report | American magazine

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U.S. News & World Report, online newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C., from 1933. It is known for its annual lists of rankings and its special single-topic issues. Successfully imitating the general format pioneered by Time magazine, it was established in 1933 as a weekly magazine by the

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Almost every student, faculty member, and librarian knows from experience how valuable Wikipedia can actually be when looking for quick background information about almost any topic. But what are the differences between Wikipedia and the traditional, scholarly reference works listed and described on the Reference Shelf tab of this guide? In this box I flesh out some of those differences (and similarities) within the context of one of the greatest reference works of all time, Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Encyclopedia Britannica contains carefully edited articles on all major topics. It fits the ideal purpose of a reference work as a place to get started, or to refer back to as you read and write. The articles in Britannica are written by authors both identifiable and credible. Many articles provide references to books and other sources about the topic covered. Articles are edited for length, the goal being to provide students (and other researchers) with sufficient background information without overwhelming them.

Undergraduates are rarely permitted to cite encyclopedia articles. Ask your professor if you plan to do so. The reason for this prohibition has to do with the function of reference works. Encyclopedias are best suited to providing background information rather than in-depth analysis or novel perspective. The "conversation" among literary scholars and historians-or academics in any other discipline for that matter-does not occur within the pages or pixels of encyclopedia articles.

Wikipedia is " written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world" and relies on the collective wisdom of its volunteers to get the facts right and to balance the opinions expressed. Wikipedia, of course, can be very useful as a starting point for many topics, especially obscure ones or those with passing or popular interest. Wikipedia articles often reflect the enthusiasm of their anonymous author(s) for the subject. Articles are sometimes too detailed, making it difficult for uninitiated readers to identify important themes.

As with any other reference work, most faculty instruct students not to cite Wikipedia. But some faculty go further, advising students not to consult Wikipedia as a background source. Prohibitions of this nature, fairly uncommon nowadays, typically result from the volunteer approach to editing taken by Wikipedia, which can be unreliable. In order to be safe, think of Wikipedia as the first stop on a research road trip. Move on from Wikipedia to edited, scholarly encyclopedias and other reference works.

An interesting compromise between traditional encyclopedias and Wikipedia is Citizendium, a project that continues to limp along but has unfortunately not gained much traction. Most of the academic work on Wikipedia has focused on making it more like a scholarly reference work through the interventions of undergraduate and graduate students, librarians, and disciplinary faculty.

This page was inspired by Acknowledgement: Rick Lezenby, one of the Social Sciences librarians who affiliates with Temple University Libraries. I have substantially altered and expanded Rick's original text.

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LibGuides: English: Encyclopedia Britannica vs. Wikipedia

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Almost every student, faculty member, and librarian knows from experience how valuable Wikipedia can actually be when looking for quick background information about almost any topic. But what are the differences between Wikipedia and the traditional, scholarly reference works listed and described on the Reference Shelf tab of this guide?

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States with the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Bans, and Death Penalty Moratoriums

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States with the Death Penalty, Death Penalty Bans, and Death Penalty Moratoriums

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24
States Have the Death Penalty

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming

3
States Have a Moratorium on the Death Penalty

California, Oregon, Pennsylvania

23
States and DC Have Abolished the Death Penalty

Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin

History of Death Penalty Laws by State
The June 29, 1972 Furman v. Georgia Supreme Court ruling placed a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in the United States. Many states amended their laws to comply with the mandates of the Furman decision and reinstate capital punishment after the 1972 ruling.

State

Death Penalty Status

Year of Legislation or Court Ruling

Summary of Death Penalty History

Arkansas

legal

1973

As his last act as Governor, Winthrop Rockefeller granted clemency to all death-row inmates in 1970. Capital punishment was reinstated by legislature and Governor Bumpers in 1973. On June 22, 2012, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled the death penalty law invalid until the state specifies the type and quantity of drug to be used for lethal injections. By 2017, the death penalty was reinstated and the state controversially planned to execute eight men over 11 days, a record pace. The state executed four of the men over two days, with the rest receiving stays.[ 3] [ 5] [ 6] [ 10] [ 14] [ 26] [ 27]

Colorado

illegal

2020

Capital punishment was abolished in 1897 and reinstated in 1901 by the legislature. Colorado was the last state to perform an execution (1967) before Furman. Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1975. Governor John Hickenlooper granted reprieve to one death row inmate, Nathan Dunlop, in 2013 via executive order, and, in Dec. 2018 as he was leaving office, pardoned 135 people and granted clemency to six. [ 5] [ 14] [ 25] [ 29] On Mar. 23, 2020, Governor Jared Polis signed a bill that abolished the death penalty as of July 1, 2020 and commuted the sentences of the three men on death row at the time to life without parole. [ 40]

Connecticut

illegal

2012

Connecticut's capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1976 and was abolished by legislature and Governor Malloy on Apr. 25, 2012. The 2012 repeal was not retroactive and death row inmates could still be executed. On Aug. 12, 2015, Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled the death penalty unconstitutional and banned any further executions. [ 1] [ 5] [ 8] [ 14] [ 19]

Delaware

illegal

2016

Capital punishment was abolished in 1958 and subsequently reinstated in 1961. It was reinstated post-Furman in 1974.[ 5] [ 10] [ 14] On Aug. 2, 2016, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in the case Rauf v. State of Delaware that the state's death penalty statute violates the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution by giving judges too much leeway in sentencing. [ 21] On Dec. 15, 2016 the Delaware Supreme court ruled that their previous decision in Aug. should apply retroactively to the 12 men who were on Delaware's death row. [ 23]

Florida

legal

1973

Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1972. [ 5] [ 14] On Jan. 12, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that Florida's method of sentencing people to death, which allowed judges, rather than juries, to impose a death sentence, violated the 6th Amendment. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said that due to the ruling, "the state will need to make changes to its death-sentencing statutes," and that "existing death sentences will need to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis." On Mar. 13, 2017, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill requiring a unanimous death penalty recommendation from a jury for a judge to impose the sentence. [ 20] [ 30]

Iowa

illegal

1965

Governor Carpenter abolished the death penalty in 1872. The legislature and Governor Gear reinstated capital punishment in 1878. Governor Hughes signed a death penalty abolition bill in 1965. [ 5] [ 7] [ 10] [ 14]

Louisiana

legal

1973

The death penalty was reinstated in 1973 post-Furman. Due to a lawsuit about the state's lethal injection protocol in 2014, a temporary stay was placed on the death penalty. The state requested and was granted a 12-month extension of the stay on July 16, 2018. [ 5] [ 14] [ 32] [ 33]

Maryland

illegal

2013

The death penalty was reinstated post-Furman in 1978. In May 2001, Governor Glendening established a morotorium on executions which was lifted by his successor, Governor Ehrlich. [5, 14] Governor O'Malley signed legislation to abolish the death penalty on May 2, 2013. [ 16]

Massachusetts

illegal

1984

Capital punishment was reinstated by voter amendment in 1982 post-Furman. The law establishing capital punisment was ruled unconstitutional in 1984 with state court case Commonwealth v. Colon-Cruz. [ 5] [ 14]

New Hampshire

illegal

2019

Capital punishment was reinstated in 1991 post-Furman. New Hampshire only allows the death penalty for murder under specific circumstances. Governor Chris Sununu (R) vetoed a death penalty repeal bill on May 3, 2019. Lawmakers voted on May 30, 2019 to override the veto, abolishing the death penalty effective immediately. [ 5] [ 14] [ 38] [ 39]

New York

illegal

2007

Capital punishment was reinstated by Governor Pataki in 1995 post-Furman, and New York's death penalty statute was ruled unconstitutional in 2004 in the state court's People v. Lavalle decision. The 2007 decision People v. Taylor also found part of the sentencing statute unconstitutional and declared that no defendants may be sentenced to death until the statute is corrected. Taylor's sentence was converted to life in prison, and New York no longer had anyone on death row. Governor Paterson issued an executive order in 2008 to remove all capital punishment equipment from Green Haven Correctional Facility in 2008. The death penalty has not been abolished by law and may be used if the unconstitutional sentencing statute is revised by legislature. [ 5] [ 10] [ 14]

The Death Penalty Information Center, the Washington Post, and FindLaw have declared 2007 as the year New York's death penalty was abolished. Other sources, including Assisting Lawyers for Justice (ALJ) on Death Row, list the date as 2004.

Oklahoma

legal

1984

The death penalty was reinstated in 1973 post-Furman. Due to botched executions in Apr. 2014 and Jan. 2015, an indefinite moratorium was placed on the death penalty in Oct. 2015. It has continued without a definite end date. ProCon does not count Oklahoma among the states with moratoriums because the state is actively working to resume executions. [ 5] [ 14] [ 34][ 35][ 36]

Oregon

legal

1984

Capital punishment was abolished in 1914 by a public vote and reinstated in 1920 at the urging of Governor West. In 1964 Oregon voted to abolish the death penalty and in 1978 voted to reinstate capital punishment. A 1981 state Supreme Court Case ruled the 1978 measure unconstitutional, and in 1984 voters approved a measure that overturned the 1978 decision making the death penalty legal again. In 2011 Governor Kitzhaber placed a moratorium on executions. Kitzhaber's term ended on Dec. 18, 2015. Governor Kate Brown succeeded Kitzhaber and stated she would continue the moratorium. [ 4] [ 5] [ 10] [ 14] [ 15] [ 37]

Vermont

illegal

1987

The legislature effectively abolished capital punishment in 1965 unless a warden, prison employee, or law enforcement officer was murdered. But Vermont's jurors never used the death sentence option when available so legislators removed that exception in 1987. Vermont law still allows for execution for treason but the DOJ considers Vermont to have no capital punishment. [ 5] [ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 14]

Virginia

illegal

2021

The first recorded execution in an English American colony occurred in Virginia in 1608. Capital punishment was reinstated post-Furman in 1975. [ 5] [ 14] Virginia became the first southern state to abolish the death penalty on Mar. 24, 2021. [ 41]

Sources

9.

Kathleen A. O'Shea, Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998, 1999

22.

New York Times, "With Death Penalty Back, Nebraska Looks Ahead to Executions," nytimes.com, Nov. 9, 2016

28.

Los Angeles Times, "Gov. Gavin Newsom to Block California Death Row Executions, Close San Quentin Execution Chamber," latimes.com, Mar. 12, 2019

29.

Denver Post Editorial Board, "Grant Death Penalty a Reprieve," denverpost.com, Dec. 21, 2018

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States Where the Death Penalty is Legal, Illegal, and on Moratorium

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24 States Have the Death Penalty Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming 3 States Have a Moratorium on the Death Penalty California, Oregon, Pennsylvania 23 States and DC Have Abolished the Death Penalty Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin History of Death Penalty Laws by State The June 29, 1972 Furman v.

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History Of The Death Penalty

Colonial Times

The abolitionist movement finds its roots in the writings of European theorists Montesquieu, Voltaire and Bentham, and English Quakers John Bellers and John Howard. However, it was Cesare Beccaria's 1767 essay, On Crimes and Punishment, that had an especially strong impact throughout the world. In the essay, Beccaria theorized that there was no justification for the state's taking of a life. The essay gave abolitionists an authoritative voice and renewed energy, one result of which was the abolition of the death penalty in Austria and Tuscany. (Schabas 1997)

American intellectuals as well were influenced by Beccaria. The first attempted reforms of the death penalty in the U.S. occurred when Thomas Jefferson introduced a bill to revise Virginia's death penalty laws. The bill proposed that capital punishment be used only for the crimes of murder and treason. It was defeated by only one vote.

Also influenced was Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and founder of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. Rush challenged the belief that the death penalty serves as a deterrent. In fact, Rush was an early believer in the "brutalization effect." He held that having a death penalty actually increased criminal conduct. Rush gained the support of Benjamin Franklin and Philadelphia Attorney General William Bradford. Bradford, who would later become the U.S. Attorney General, led Pennsylvania to become the first state to consider degrees of murder based on culpability. In 1794, Pennsylvania repealed the death penalty for all offenses except first degree murder. (Bohm, 1999; Randa, 1997; and Schabas, 1997)

Nineteenth Century

In the early to mid-Nineteenth Century, the abolitionist movement gained momentum in the northeast. In the early part of the century, many states reduced the number of their capital crimes and built state penitentiaries. In 1834, Pennsylvania became the first state to move executions away from the public eye and carrying them out in correctional facilities.

In 1846, Michigan became the first state to abolish the death penalty for all crimes except treason. Later, Rhode Island and Wisconsin abolished the death penalty for all crimes. By the end of the century, the world would see the countries of Venezuela, Portugal, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Brazil and Ecuador follow suit. (Bohm, 1999 and Schabas, 1997).

Although some U.S. states began abolishing the death penalty, most states held onto capital punishment. Some states made more crimes capital offenses, especially for offenses committed by slaves. In 1838, in an effort to make the death penalty more palatable to the public, some states began passing laws against mandatory death sentencing instead enacting discretionary death penalty statutes. The 1838 enactment of discretionary death penalty statutes in Tennessee, and later in Alabama, were seen as a great reform. This introduction of sentencing discretion in the capital process was perceived as a victory for abolitionists because prior to the enactment of these statutes, all states mandated the death penalty for anyone convicted of a capital crime, regardless of circumstances. With the exception of a small number of rarely committed crimes in a few jurisdictions, all mandatory capital punishment laws had been abolished by 1963. (Bohm, 1999)

During the Civil War, opposition to the death penalty waned, as more attention was given to the anti-slavery movement. After the war, new developments in the means of executions emerged. The electric chair was introduced at the end of the century. New York built the first electric chair in 1888, and in 1890 executed William Kemmler. Soon, other states adopted this execution method. (Randa, 1997)

Early and Mid-Twentieth Century

Although some states abolished the death penalty in the mid-Nineteenth Century, it was actually the first half of the Twentieth Century that marked the beginning of the "Progressive Period" of reform in the United States. From 1907 to 1917, six states completely outlawed the death penalty and three limited it to the rarely committed crimes of treason and first degree murder of a law enforcement official. However, this reform was short-lived. There was a frenzied atmosphere in the U.S., as citizens began to panic about the threat of revolution in the wake of the Russian Revolution. In addition, the U.S. had just entered World War I and there were intense class conflicts as socialists mounted the first serious challenge to capitalism. As a result, five of the six abolitionist states reinstated their death penalty by 1920. (Bedau, 1997 and Bohm, 1999)

In 1924, the use of cyanide gas was introduced, as Nevada sought a more humane way of executing its inmates. Gee Jon was the first person executed by lethal gas. The state tried to pump cyanide gas into Jon's cell while he slept, but this proved impossible, and the gas chamber was constructed. (Bohm, 1999)

From the 1920s to the 1940s, there was a resurgence in the use of the death penalty. This was due, in part, to the writings of criminologists, who argued that the death penalty was a necessary social measure. In the United States, Americans were suffering through Prohibition and the Great Depression. There were more executions in the 1930s than in any other decade in American history, an average of 167 per year. (Bohm, 1999 and Schabas, 1997)

In the 1950s, public sentiment began to turn away from capital punishment. Many allied nations either abolished or limited the death penalty, and in the U.S., the number of executions dropped dramatically. Whereas there were 1,289 executions in the 1940s, there were 715 in the 1950s, and the number fell even further, to only 191, from 1960 to 1976. In 1966, support for capital punishment reached an all-time low. A Gallup poll showed support for the death penalty at only 42%. (Bohm, 1999 and BJS, 1997)

Sources

Amnesty International, ​" List of Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries," Report ACT 50/​01/​99, April 1999

D. Baker: ​"A Descriptive Profile and Socio-Historical Analysis of Female Executions in the United States: 1632 - 1997"; 10(3) Women and Criminal Justice 57 (1999)

R. Bohm, ​"Deathquest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States," Anderson Publishing, 1999.

"The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies," H. Bedau, editor, Oxford University Press, 1997.

K. O'Shea, ​"Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900 - 1998," Praeger 1999.

W. Schabas ​"The Abolition of the Death Penalty in International Law," Cambridge University Press, second edition, 1997.

"Society's Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty," L. Randa, editor, University Press of America, 1997.

V. Streib, ​" Death Penalty For Female Offenders January 1973 to October 2010, " Ohio Northern University, 2010.

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Later, Rhode Island and Wisconsin abolished the death penalty for all crimes. states began abolishing the death penalty, most states held onto capital punishment. Some states made more crimes capital offenses, especially for offenses committed by slaves. In 1838, in an effort to make the death...

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On Sept. 10, Earl Ringo Jr. was executed in Missouri. Before you decide whether or not this is right, consider what Ringo did.
In July 1998, Ringo and an accomplice planned to rob a restaurant where Ringo had previously worked. Early one morning, they followed delivery truck driver Dennis Poyser and manager-in-training Joanna Baysinger into the building before shooting Poyser to death and forcing Baysinger to hand over $1,400. Then, Ringo encouraged his partner to kill her. A jury convicted Ringo of two first-degree murders.
Some crimes are so heinous and inherently wrong that they demand strict penalties - up to and including life sentences or even death. Most Americans recognize this principle as just.
[MORE: Cartoons about Congress]
A Gallup poll from May on the topic found that 61 percent of Americans view the death penalty as morally acceptable, and only 30 percent disagreed. Even though foes of capital punishment have for years been increasingly vocal in their opposition to the death penalty, Americans have consistently supported capital punishment by a 2-to-1 ratio in murder cases. They are wise to do so.
Studies of the death penalty have reached various conclusions about its effectiveness in deterring crime. But a 2008 comprehensive review of capital punishment research since 1975 by Drexel University economist Bijou Yang and psychologist David Lester of Richard Stockton College of New Jersey concluded that the majority of studies that track effects over many years and across states or counties find a deterrent effect.
[ GALLERY: Cartoons on the Economy]
Indeed, other recent investigations, using a variety of samples and statistical methods, consistently demonstrate a strong link between executions and reduced murder rates. For instance, a 2003 study by Emory University researchers of data from more than 3,000 counties from 1977 through 1996 found that each execution, on average, resulted in 18 fewer murders per county. In another examination, based on data from all 50 states from 1978 to 1997, Federal Communications Commission economist Paul Zimmerman demonstrated that each state execution deters an average of 14 murders annually.
A more recent study by Kenneth Land of Duke University and others concluded that, from 1994 through 2005, each execution in Texas was associated with "modest, short-term reductions" in homicides, a decrease of up to 2.5 murders. And in 2009, researchers found that adopting state laws allowing defendants in child murder cases to be eligible for the death penalty was associated with an almost 20 percent reduction in rates of these crimes.
In short, capital punishment does, in fact, save lives. That's certainly not to say that it should be exercised with wild abandon. Federal, state and local officials must continually ensure that its implementation rigorously upholds constitutional protections, such as due process and equal protection of the law. However, the criminal process should not be abused to prevent the lawful imposition of the death penalty in capital cases.
[SEE: Cartoons about the Republican Party]
Moral indignation is an appropriate response to inherently wrongful conduct, such as that carried out by Earl Ringo Jr. While the goal of lower crime through deterrence is worthwhile, lawmakers need to place special emphasis on the moral gravity of offenses in determining the proportionality of punishment.
The execution of Ringo was morally just. And it may just save the lives of several innocents.

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Capital punishment curbs criminal behavior and promotes a safer country.