74 percent of Americans surveyed say they favor the death penalty for people convicted of murder in a 2003 Gallup poll
Despite its public support capital punishment remains controversial in the US
Capital Punishment
• Of the 85 prisoners executed in 2000, 49 were white, of which 6 were white Hispanic; 35 were black and 1 was American Indian.
Of the 3,593 prisoners on the death rows of U.S. prisons at the end of 2000, about 55 percent were white, 43 percent were black, with all other races represented 2 percent.
Of the 85 prisoners executed in 2000, 49 were white, of which 6 were white Hispanic; 35 were black and 1 was American Indian.
Of the 3,593 prisoners on the death rows of U.S. prisons at the end of 2000, about 55 percent were white, 43 percent were black, with all other races represented 2 percent.
Blacks were almost five times as likely as Whites to be on death row
Executions By State (2002)
State Executions State Executions
Texas 33 Ohio 3
Oklahoma 7 Alabama 2 Missouri 6 Mississippi 2 Georgia 4 North Carolina 2 Virginia 4 Louisiana 1
Florida 3 California 1
South Carolina 3
Of 71 Executions 67 (94%) Occurred in the South
Executions Of Juveniles By State Since 1976
State Executions
Texas 13
Virginia 3
Oklahoma 3
Georgia 1
Louisiana 1
Missouri 1
South Carolina 1
Of 23 Executions 23 (100%) Occurred in the South
Capital Punishment: Phillips Archival Study
Phillips (1980) recorded reports of murders and capital punishments publicized in London between 1858 and 1921.
Immediately after a well‑publicized execution, homicides dropped about 35%.
Several weeks later homicides increased above the rate that would have been expected if no execution had taken place.
When averaged over a period of six weeks, capital punishment did not influence the number of homicides.
Employing Terrorism, Guerrilla Warfare and International Conflict To Achieve Social Influence
Reasons To Avoid This Topic
Too controversial
Traditional social psychology topics like conformity, attribution, aggression, etc.
Less time can be spent talking about research from my laboratory
There are many topics that I and other persons know more about
Reasons To Examine This Topic
The importance of the topic suggests that social psychologists should have been studying this for years
Social psychologists have skills and have developed a knowledge base not available to politicians, journalists, historians, etc
Chance to talk about where we are going rather than where we have been
Premises We Will Adopt
No moral judgment is implied in the labels ‘terrorist,’ ‘guerrilla,’ and ‘state.’ These simply describe activities that individuals and organizations employ to gain social influence.
Terrorist, guerrilla and state organizations form a continuum. Larger organizations retain all the capacities of the smaller organizations, but smaller organizations lack some of the capacities of larger organizations.
Premises We Will Adopt
Conceptual structures are best formed by allowing permeability between disciplines. Our structure will take from psychology, history, philosophy, art, politics, etc.
No new forms of social interactions have occurred since 09-10-01. Thus, while we will not avoid discussing the present international climate, analysis of the current political situation is unlikely to yield any new principle of social influence.
Organizations: Definitions
State-A organizational unit or group of allied units that maintain a military force capable of fighting conventional battles.
Guerilla-A permanent or semi-permanent military organization that is not sufficiently strong to confront the military of a state in a conventional battle.
Terrorist-A relatively small organization that is not sufficiently strong to maintain an identifiable group for an extended time.
Organizational Goals
States: To 1) maintain their group in power and 2) dispense resources among the supporters of the government.
Guerillas-To become a state
Terrorists-To become a guerilla organization and eventually a state.
Theme 1: The Villa
Theme 1: My Friend’s Father
What had produced the metamorphosis from executioner to kind father
Infrastructure and Resources: Food, transportation, airports, etc.
Communication Network: Television, radio, internet, word of mouth
Principles Guiding Our Analysis
No moral assessment is implied in labeling a group a terrorist, guerilla or state organization. These groups are simply mechanisms for gaining social influence
Terrorist, guerilla and state organizations have existed and will exist throughout history
Terrorist, guerilla and state organizations have different goals and employ different strategies
Larger organizations use strategies of smaller organizations but smaller organizations are rarely capable of using strategies of larger organizations
