DEATH PENALTY IN NORTH CAROLINA
PPOL8000 Dr. Beth Bjerregaard
Summer I, 2007 bebjerre@email.uncc.edu
704-687-2510
COURSE WEBSITE:
http://personal.uncc.edu/beberre/death penalty
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to familiarize students with the administration of the death penalty in general and specifically in the state of North Carolina. This course will discuss the current issues and controversies surrounding the use of this penalty. We will look at the death penalty from a historic viewpoint, examine the legal issues surrounding the administration of the death penalty and examine the empirical research that has been conducted on this topic. Topics to be discussed include the history of the death penalty, legal issues, current statistics pertaining to the death penalty and the administration of the death penalty.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Latzer, Barry (2002) Death Penalty Cases: Leading U.S. Supreme Court Cases on Capital Punishment. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann. Available at UNCC bookstore
Coursepacket available at Gray’s bookstore.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Since this is a short format course, the pace of this class will obviously be accelerated. You are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings assigned for that day. Missing three or more classes will result in a failing grade. In addition, you are required to participate in our field trip on Friday June 1st.
In addition to the exam, students will be responsible for writing a persuasive paper on a topic of their choice. The requirements for this project are outlined on the following pages.
Grading:
Final 80%
Paper 20% (see link below)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
Acts of academic dishonesty will not be tolerated (cheating, plagiarizing, complicity, copying others’ assignments, having someone else do your work, etc.). Students caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive an F for the course and will be referred to the Student Conduct Committee. In this class cheating includes but is not limited to intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one’s own work (without proper acknowledgment of the source), intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another commit an act of academic dishonesty, and assisting other students or acquiring help on any graded assignments. Students should familiarize themselves with both the Code of Student Academic Integrity (http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-105.html) and the Code of Student Responsibility (http://www.legal.uncc.edu/policies/ps-104.html).
As a condition of taking this course, all required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of such papers. No student papers will be submitted to Turnitin.com without a student’s written consent and permission. If a student does not provide such written consent and permission, the instructor may: (i) require a short reflection paper on research methodology; (ii) require a draft bibliography prior to submission of the final paper; or (iii) require the cover page and first cited page of each reference source to be photocopied and submitted with the final paper. If you have any questions concerning turnitin.com please refer to http://www3.uncc.edu/elearning/turnitin.html .
Below is a link to instructions for utilizing turnitin.com.
QUICK START GUIDE FOR TURNITIN
Our class id: 1889112
The password is: "Death" (this is case sensitive)
The assignment is: Paper assignment
If you have not already completed the permission form a link is provided below:
This form must accompany your final paper.
DISABILITIES:
If you have a documented disability please see Disability Services in Fretwell 230 (687-4355). If you believe that your disability will affect your performance in this class, you must contact Disability Services in a “timely manner” during the first part of the term and ask that they draw up an accommodation form.