Example research essay topic: James S Gilmore The Death Penalty - 940 words

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James S. Gilmore & The Death Penalty Introduction Perhaps the declaration of James Stuart Jim Gilmore III as a Presidential candidate for the 2008 will come as a disappointment to the anti-death penalty supporters because Gilmore appears to be a staunch and confirmed advocate in favor of the death penalty. In an interview with the Washington Post while he was the Governor of Virginia he has on record made the following statement which seems to be his way of having a final solution to the problems of reducing the population of inmates on death-row; I support the death penalty because it sets a standard that says that we will not tolerate these ghastly murders that not only kill people, but destroy families forever. Efforts to undermine the rule of law threaten the destruction of civilization itself. If the law is not permitted to be enforced, what do we have left, except the rule of the strong over the weak? While his other leadership qualities may not be as extreme, but perhaps for the American people after the recent experience of having to endure a: war-mongering president, a new lynching president would perhaps take a heavy toll on their psyche. (Virginia Gov.

James S. Gilmore III on Campaign 2000, July 31, 2000, Washington Post) Background During the tenure of James S. Gilmore as the governor of Virginia, 37 inmates were executed in his state while only on was granted executive clemency due to his mental health problems and another was pardoned because the DNA test was not conclusive enough to prove his guilt. (Jim Gilmore, From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia) During his tenure as the governor of Virginia, James S. Gilmore III has further on record stated while he supports capital punishments, in his view it is not innocent people that are being executed in the United States because there is a very thorough justice and trial system in place and there is review by the courts as well as by the executives branches within the country right until the day an inmate is executed. James S. Gilmore attitude with regard to capital punishment therefore clearly supports the argument that there is no possibility that his views with regard to the taking of the lives of other human beings are not going to change. (Virginia Gov.

James S. Gilmore III on Campaign 2000, 2000, Washington Post) Arguments While capital punishment has been abolished in Europe and a lot of other countries, Governor Gilmore in flagrantly defying the International Court of Justices specific order to stop the execution of the Paraguayan national Angel Francisco Breard after he was deprived his treaty-based consular assistance right in 1998. This had raised an international controversy in three continents and this death penalty like none other in the history of the United States revealed the double standards it exercised with regard to human rights when it come to nationals of other countries. The international community unanimously saw through this violation that while the US government advocates as a world leader and champion of international law the protection of human rights it reneges on binding treaty obligations. At present there are more than 60 foreign citizens facing capital punishment in the United States and if James S. Gilmore by any chance was elected as President in 2008, there would be a further risk that all of them would be executed and create a further international furor.

The policies that James S. Gilmore advocates towards the death penalty also increases the risk to U. S. citizens when they are detained in other countries where arguably their human rights would also be disregarded with the justification that the United States government treats their citizens in a similar fashion.

In another incident related to the death penalty, a jointly written letter dated September 11, 2000 from the Ambassadors of France, Sweden and the Head of the European Delegation to the United States also specifically urged Governor James S. Gilmore to halt the execution of Derek Rocco Barnabei but this plea was also ignored by him. (Breard v. Greene: Death Penalty, Consular Relations, and International Law; EU Policy on Death Penalty, European Union Delegation to the United States & The Execution of Angel Breard: Apologies Are Not Enough, Amnesty International) Conclusion Throughout James S. Gilmore's political career at one time or another he has been more associated with position that require aggressive attitudes like the one he has had in the past as the Chairman of the Congressional Advisory Panel and his present position as the Chairman of the National Council on Readiness & Preparedness and as the President of the USA Secure for homeland security. These qualities perhaps qualify him to head a secret service institution related to the security of the country, but definitely not as a lynching president of the greatest county in the world. Controversially in an opposing act of extreme he went to court to forcefully prolong the life of the coma victims Hugh Finn in 1999, who all by accounts deserved to mercifully be allowed to die and peacefully rest with finality. (Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism) Works Cited: Breard v.

Greene: Death Penalty, Consular Relations, and International Law (Accessed: April 29, 2007) web EU Policy on Death Penalty, European Union Delegation to the United States (Accessed: April 29, 2007) web Jim Gilmore, From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia (Accessed: April 29, 2007) web The Execution of Angel Breard: Apologies Are Not Enough, Amnesty International web Knight Center for Specialized Journalism (Accessed: April 29, 2007) web Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore III on Campaign 2000, July 31, 2000, Washington Post (Accessed: April 29, 2007) web

Research essay sample on James S Gilmore The Death Penalty