Capital Punishment in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Capital Punishment in the United States - Essay Example This basically translates into a government wherein the powers of the central (national) government are limited or restricted and in which the component states enjoy a certain degree of autonomy, sovereignty and self-government. In this form, the sovereign power rests with the people who elect their representatives. However, the component states that form the United States are bound by the Supreme law of the land, the Constitution. With that in mind, it would be necessary to state the degree of autonomy each state has in governing its respective territories and constituents. Each state has the three main branches of government, namely the executive, legislative and judiciary. The executive is headed by the Governor, while the legislative and judiciary are composed of State representatives similar to that of these branches at the national level. Each state has its own laws and each State Supreme Court has the power to create the judicial determination of issues of law on their own, subject only to the limitations imposed by the Constitution and the US Supreme Court. One of the limitations imposed by the U.S. Constitution on the issue of capital punishment is mainly enshrined in the Eighth Amendment, prescribing the use of cruel and unusual punishment. For around four decades now since 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court has held steadfast in its ruling that the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment. Another key limitation is one wherein the U.S. Supreme Court overturned death penalty sentences in 19 states when it held that the death penalty could not be imposed on convicted murderers who were under the age of 18 at the time they committed their crimes. (Walker 2006) Thus, it can be seen that indeed each state has the right to determine whether or not a convicted felon should be executed, as long as the State law allows it, and the practice is in accordance with the limitations set on the National level. Therefore, various differences can be seen as to how State practice and legislation allows capital punishment.  Ã‚  

Pierson and the Secret Service Scandal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pierson and the Secret Service Scandal - Essay Example During this entire incident neither the President, nor his family were inside the White House. However, this act was viewed as a significant attempt to trick the security of the President and shed light on work of Ms. Pierson, who was responsible to look after the President’s security detail at all times. Another event which turned out to be a final blow to Julia Pierson’s Position came in the face of an incident where in Atlanta an armed guard was using the same elevator as President Barrack Obama. Interestingly enough, the guard was not authorized to be near the President, and this could have possibly led to disastrous consequences (Plate and Sterman, 2014). I personally believe that Ms. Julia Pierson’s case could have been handled in a much different manner as compared to the way it was currently resolved. What needs to be understood is that Ms. Julia, like all civil servants, has served at various key positions and undergone rigorous training prior to being appointed to lead the President’s Security Detail. Anyone can have a bad day at work, and making a judgment on someone based on a couple of events is essentially not the right thing to do. I believe Ms. Julia should have been first asked to explain if she has been undergoing any issues which are keeping her attention from her work. Accordingly, she should have been counseled. If the interaction determined that Ms. Julia needs a break from work, then she could have been sent for vacations to cool her mind and later on join in with a fresh attitude. Asking her to resign like in this case is no resolution. It is totally unjust and ruthless to end a person’s service straight away without giving them any chance. What could have been rather more appropriate, would be to not make Ms. Julia resign from her position, but rather to move her to another office and assign her with another responsibility instead of simply sabotaging her