Critical Thinking Paper

CAP Critical Thinking Paper by maxfkcap2016

Assignment/Activity Title— Critical Thinking Paper
 Year—2013
Skill— Writing and Researching
 Portfolio Category—Ethics and morals/social awareness

My critical thinking paper, which argued against the implementation of the death penalty, helped improve my writing and researching skills and also gave me insight into the political system and my own beliefs in regard to it. From the beginning of the year, I was very excited about the critical thinking paper. I wasn’t sure on what topic I wanted to write it, but I have always been a fan of persuasive essays, especially when regarding current political or social issues. I knew what topic I wanted to do after I spoke to one of my mother’s friends, Jane Henderson. Jane works for MD CASE, which stands for Maryland Citizens Against State Executions. She has been lobbying Maryland lawmakers for the past few years to repeal Maryland’s death penalty, and really felt excited about the chances of that occurring this year. Governor Martin O’Malley finally signed on to the bill this year, and many prominent players in the Senate and House, such as the President of the Senate and the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee stated publicly that they would allow for a vote (on the floor of the Senate and in House Judiciary, respectively) instead of holding up the bill as in previous years. I decided that it would be great to learn as much as I can about the death penalty in Maryland and in the rest of the country, and proceeded to start researching. The research I undertook for this project was much greater than any other project I had done before. I scoured the web for all views on the death penalty, from large non-profit organizations, and scholarly reports, to personal blogs. I also attended the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and House Judiciary Committee on the death penalty to meet those involved on both sides of the debate. I met lawmakers, activists, prosecutors, and other people involved in the criminal justice system. I heard the testimony of Governor O’Malley, Lieutenant Governor Brown, and that of Kirk Bloodsworth, the first person to be exonerated by DNA evidence after spending time on death row. I spoke to Mr. Bloodsworth, and that conversation made up most of my opening paragraph. I went on to write the paper. Because I am fascinated by this issue and wanted to do it justice, I put a lot of effort into the writing of the paper. I had, by that point, become well versed in the different sides of the debate and wanted to provide all of the points against the death penalty, as well as provide counterpoints to those who support it.
          The critical thinking paper was a foray into very serious research and was a cumulative product of all of the things I have learned this year in terms of writing. The death penalty is one of extreme emotional import in my family. Al-Qaeda operatives in Jordan killed my grandfather, and his killers were sentenced to death. After the execution many members of my family have worked to stop the implementation of capital punishment, submitting that it provides no solace to the victim’s family. My mother even testified in front of the Maryland Senate and House. In this paper I wanted to move away a little bit from the arguments that members of my family implement. I like emotional arguments, especially when they are backed up with names and faces. That is why I had a paragraph in which family members talked about the negative impact the death penalty had on his or her lives. I also, however, wanted to touch on the millions of dollars spent on implementing the death penalty, and the money that could be saved by repealing it. If the governor of California were to repeal the death penalty today, the state would immediately save 170 million dollars. That is real money that could go towards more legitimate crime prevention methods, such as crime tracking, drug treatment, and the pursuance of non-capital cases. I also wanted to outline the inherent flaws in the death penalty system. As I write in my paper, since the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia, 142 people have been sentenced to death and later exonerated. And that is with the mandatory appeals process outlined in Gregg, which make the death penalty so expensive. I learned a lot about my own beliefs in regard to the criminal justice system and Maryland’s legislative system. I became fascinated by the advocacy (and yes, lobbying) process in state legislatures and the United States Congress. I really came to realize the impact that well organized individuals could have on the legislative process. I really got a close look at the repeal of the death penalty in Maryland, and was able to learn about the legislative process while learning about an issue I find fascinating.