... conviction for a crime. (Henderson 3) "Despite some two-hundred years of debate, capital punishment remains one of the most hotly contested and widely discussed topics of bother public and academic discourse. Scarcely a week goes by without a new political or legal issue, murder case or impending execution fuelling the fires of controversy." (Smith 235) The death penalty has been the subject ... people. Thirteen exonerations of people sentenced to death in Illinois - including three provoked by a journalism class at Northwestern University - prompted Governor George Ryan, a Republican, t...

• Word Count: 3235
• Approx Pages: 13
• Grade Level: High School