To Kill a Mockingbird
and Capital Punishment
| Task | Student roles | Vocabulary | Evaluations | Teacher page | |
| Process | Learner outcomes | Calendar | Resources | TKM info page |
Our justice system is based on the premise that "all men are created equal" and that every citizen is "innocent until proven guilty." These two ideals do not hold true throughout the world; in fact, many countries feel that there should be different punishments based on a person’s background, status or education and that a defendant is guilty until proven innocent. Even in America, not all states agree on laws and punishments that should be enforced. Since violence and crime rates continue to impact our society, we need to evaluate the effectiveness of our justice and penal system. We need to come to a consensus and create a system that is fair, punitive, and deters crime.
"At the dawn of the 21st century, the death penalty is considered by most civilized nations as a cruel and inhuman punishment. It has been abolished de jure or de facto by 106 nations, 30 countries have abolished it since 1990. However, the death penalty continues to be commonly applied in other nations. China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United States and Iran are the most prolific executioners in the world. Indeed, the US is one of six countries (including also Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen) which executes people who were under 18 years-old at the time they committed their crimes.
While international documents have restricted and in some cases even banned the death penalty, its application is still not against customary international law. Much debate continues in the US as to whether it constitutes an appropriate punishment, at least to the most heinous crimes. In recent years, the debate has been further fueled by the use of new technologies which have shown that a large proportion of people sentenced to death are, indeed, innocent."
(Amnesty International)
You are only a few years from becoming of age to enact your voting rights. As the future of our country, it will soon be your job to make decisions that not only immediately affects yourselves, but also others. This unit is your chance to exercise your right to free speech and debate public policy. Since having read To Kill a Mockingbird, you are familiar with the themes of human dignity, prejudice, and justice. Now you must become informed about the history and process of capital punishment in the United States. After researching, you will prepare a letter to Congress asking for a special session, a position paper, and persuasive speech to express your views on what the future of capital punishment should be.
Process (download a checklist):
1. Read the letters to the students.
2. Be able to define all the words on the vocabulary list.
2. In your small group, divide equally the list of websites to research.
3. Read the resources given on evaluating websites.
4. Research capital punishment in Illinois and the United States.
5. Complete a web evaluation sheet for each website that you examined for your group.
6. Complete a research reflection log.
Complete the following steps as a group:
7. Write a letter to your local Congressmen asking that he/she invoke a special session to discuss the issue of
capital punishment.
8. Discuss your findings and complete a graphic organizer that evaluates all sides of the issue.
9. Create an outline for assigned position paper.
10. Write a position paper that is 500-750 words in length that includes internal documentation.
11. Prepare a bibliography for all sources cited in your paper.
12. Organize speakers' notes to be used in your group's oral presentation to "Congress."
13. Practice your group's oral presentation.
14. Present your recommendations for the future on capital punishment in the US in a 10-15 minute
persuasive speech to "Congress."
15. Complete a self evaluation
16. Complete a group evaluation.