"You Decide" Companion Lesson

Is the death penalty unjust because it violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, "cruel and unusual punishment"? Or is it just a form of permissible capital punishment? After weighing arguments for and against the...

Should the United States ban the death penalty? Scholars use real-life examples of criminal activity to come to their own conclusions on the death penalty. Primary source documents, as well as video clips, open the issue of capital...

Sensitive material is discussed in this lesson plan. Please review to ensure that the content is suitable for your class. The topic is the Eighth Amendment and how the U.S. Supreme Court makes determinations about what constitutes cruel...

Students write a persuasive essay about the death penalty. Students respond to students at St. Ignatius Catholic High School in Cleveland protesting the death of Adremy Dennis. Students research both sides of the debate, before writing...

Should the United States continue the practice of capital punishment? Scholars set out to answer the question in preparation for a class debate or discussion about the death penalty. They watch videos, analyze charts about death penalty...

This resource offers extensive information for students and teachers examining the issue of the death penalty and whether it is morally right, if it violates the Constitution, and whether enforcing it has had any impact on violent crime....

This Cornell site gives an overview of the death penalty issue and links to federal, state and other resources on the issue.

For this death penalty worksheet, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write,...

Website dedicated to controversial issues lays out the both sides of the arguments made on whether or not Tsarnaev should recieve the death penalty. Resources for students include summary of events, pro con list, and links to related...

Students take a closer look at the death penalty. In this U.S. government lesson, students watch a Discovery video about capital punishment in the United States and then compose letters to the editors of newspapers about their stance on...