DEVELOPING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The study will be focused on determining the effect of capital offense punishment on society and will use survey as a method. Survey method is a method of conducting research where the researchers find the respondents and collect data. The collected data can then be analyzed, and a conclusion is drawn from it.  There are three vital methods of data collection under survey research. The researcher can opt for an in-person interview with the respondents, an online/ mail interview, or deploy the use of telephone interviews. The most compelling data collection method is the one-on-one interviews, although it might be costly compared to other methods. The survey method presents the researcher with the opportunity to meet with different groups, thereby increasing the study’s sample size. The groups that will be involved in the study will include; convicts, prison officials, criminal lawyers, relatives of convicts,

There will be two variables in the study; the dependent variable and the independent variable. The dependent variable will be the society, while the independent variable will include: reduction of crime in the community, abuse of human rights, loss of innocent lives, impact on family members, justice to victim’s family, increased costs, and controlling of prison populations.

The hypotheses of the study will be;

1. Various forms of punishment can be administered to better offenders than capital punishment and have more positive effects.
2. Capital punishment should be made illegal since it violates human rights, for instance, the right to life, which is the most fundamental right.
3. There is no credible evidence that capital punishment is more effective in stopping crime than imprisonment or other punishment forms.
4. Capital offense punishment execution methods are inhuman and costly as compared to other forms of punishment.

The study will involve the use of both primary and secondary data. The secondary data will be aimed at gathering data on capital punishment that include histories of prior criminals, demographic characteristics of the offenders, the criminal justice system when the offense is administered, sentence disposition’s date, and the type and date of the death sentence. The data will be obtained from the National Prisoner Statistic Program since People under death sentence held in a federal non-military correctional facility, or the program covers a state. The program covers capital offenders who may have escaped from custody and those transferred from prisons to mental hospitals. However, the program does not cover individuals whose death sentence has been overturned by the court without considering their incarceration status at that particular time. The primary data will be collected from various respondents that are relevant to the study.

The research questions that the study will seek to answer include;

1. How does capital offense punishment results in a reduction of the crime rate in society?
2. Does capital offense punishment lead to the loss of innocent lives?
3. How is capital offense punishment effective in reducing the population of correctional facilities in the country?
4. What is the general view of society on capital offense punishment
5. Is capital offense an abuse of human rights?

The analysis unit in the study will be the society since it will determine the effect of capital punishment in society.