Execution Methods Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Execution Methods - Annotated Bibliography Example Baker, Peter. â€Å"Obama Orders Policy Review on Executions.† The New York Times. 03 May 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 05 May 2014.< http://ic.galegroup.com.ezproxy.cyclib.nocccd.edu/ic/ovic/NewsDetailsPage/NewsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=News&limiter=&u=cypressc&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE|A366879542.> In this article, there is a focus on policy required in implementing of the death penalty in various parts of the country. Baker notes that the Oklahoma execution is a clear example that something is amiss in the process of conviction. It shows the president of the United States also called for policy review in the sector. I chose the article as it helps in showing what need to be done to balance the view of those for and against the death penalty. The article is of the essence as it helps in showing areas that need policy changes. Baldus, David, C., Grosso, Catherine, M., Woodworth, George, Newell, Richard. â€Å"Racial Discrimination in the Administration of the Death Penalty: The Experience of the United States Armed Forces (1984-2005).† Journal of criminal law and criminology 101.4 (2011): 1227-1335. Print. The article presents evidence that there is racial bias in the implementation of the death penalty. The authors note that this is well documented in the administration of the death penalty in the United States armed forces in over two decades. The authors rely on three scenarios of racial disparities in the treatment of similarly situated death-eligible offenders. I chose this article as it highlights racial bias in the implementation of the death penalty programs. It is also of benefit as it helps in presenting evidence while the death penalty should be stopped due to racial bias in issuing the death sentences. BBC News- US & Canada. â€Å"US president Obama Calls for Death Penalty Review.† Bbc.com. Web. 05 May 2014 The article highlights the concerns of the United States president over the manner in which death penalty is executed in the country. The concern is based on the heinous execution of Clayton Lockett in the state of Oklahoma. The president expressed his feeling on the botched execution and calls for a rethinking of the process.

Soviet Union during Gorbachev Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Soviet Union during Gorbachev Presidency - Essay Example By the late 80s, if the cold war was becoming a major limitation for the Soviet Union, the US administration was also getting cognizant of the constraints being posed by that icy conflict. Thus a thorough understanding of the decline of the Soviet Union during the Gorbachev era raises many hitherto unexpected issues (Dukes, 1993). Therefore the onus for the decline of the Soviet Union both before and after Gorbachev needs to be interpreted in the context of the socio-economic, political and cultural changes that defined the Soviet Union in 1991. Communism was as much an economic and social doctrine as a political strategy. It is really surprising to note that the Bolsheviks primarily came to power by riding on a band wagon of simple economic promises that is the extension of food, clothing and shelter to the suffering masses (Sviderskii, 1930). Hence the demise of the Soviet Union was as much a failure of the Communist economic model, as a victory of the Western democratic and capitalist ideals. The Gorbachev era was the culmination of a long history of disastrous economic policies pursued by the successive soviet regimes over the decades. So the decline of the Soviet Union when Gorbachev came to power needs to be understood in the subaltern context of the failure of the Soviet state to provide the basic means of sustenance to the masses. Food definitely constitutes an important aspect of this state failure on the part of the communist regime. In the late 20s, the Soviet regime went ahead with a positive note in the sense that it supported the idea of allowing for private agriculture and the free market economy pertaining to food grains, while retaining the Communist Party's hold over the basic market frameworks (Sviderskii, 1930). However, the agents of doom were let lose when Stalin decided in favour of the state control over agriculture and the production and the management of food stocks (Gaider, 2007). Stalin chose to do so despite the cautions extended by many of his trusted comrades like Bukharin and Rykov (Gaider, 2007).The pursuance of this food policy between 1920 and 1950 resulted in a sharp decline in the Soviet agricultural production, despite the fact that it had access to some of the largest farming tracts in the world (Desai, 1986). In fact Nikita Khrushchev wrote a letter delivered to many of his friends, mentioning that, "In the last fifteen years we have not increased the collection of grain. Meanwhile we are experiencing a radical increase of urban population. How can we resolve this problem (Gaider, 2007)"At some time in the 50s, the Soviet planners alarmed by this scarcity, put their heads together to grapple with this pressing issue and several options were