Deck 9: Living and Dying in Prison

Question 1

The average time served by prison inmates in the United States is:

A) 1 year
B) 2 years
C) 3 years
D) 10 years

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Currently there are about how many people on death rows in the United States?

A) 2,700
B) 10,500
C) 4,300
D) 19,900

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which year saw the modern peak number of executions in the United States?

A) 1964
B) 1976
C) 1988
D) 1999

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which federal law allows inmates to be released into the community for compassionate reasons?

A) the Mann Act
B) the Habeas Corpus Act
C) the First Step Act
D) the Civil Rights Act

Question 5

About _______ jail inmates kill themselves each year in the United States.

A) 400
B) 750
C) 900
D) 11,000

Question 6

Among U.S. prison inmates about one in ______ is serving a very long or life sentence.

A) two
B) seven
C) twelve
D) seventeen

Question 7

Over half (59%) of the people who receive life sentences have been convicted of:

A) sex crimes
B) drug offenses
C) property offenses
D) homicide offenses

Question 8

A good predictor of prison suicides is:

A) long prison sentences
B) poor employment history
C) drug addiction
D) gang affiliation

Question 9

As many as 60% of the women serving life sentences were charged with:

A) drug offenses
B) being an accessory to a crime
C) kidnapping
D) commercial sex (prostitution)

Question 10

The death penalty for crimes committed before an offender's 18^th birthday were prohibited by the 2005 U.S. Supreme Court case of:

A) Roper v. Simmons
B) In re Gault
C) Gideon v. Wainwright
D) Escobedo v. Illinois

Question 11

In 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court banned the use of life without parole for juveniles who committed homicides in the case of:

A) Betts v. Brady
B) In re Winship
C) Graham v. Florida
D) Eddings v. Oklahoma

Question 12

Which nation is reported to have the highest percentage of inmates serving life sentences?

A) France
B) India
C) South Africa
D) Germany

Question 13

Since the late 1990s the average annual number of people executed in the United States:

A) has remained unknown
B) has remained the same
C) has increased
D) has decreased

Question 14

In 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty as it was currently imposed was arbitrary and capricious. What is the name of that case?

A) Miranda v. Arizona
B) Rummel v. Estelle
C) Furman v. Georgia
D) Gregg v. Georgia

Question 15

Currently the most common method for administering the death penalty is:

A) poison gas
B) electrocution
C) firing squad
D) lethal injection

Question 16

Elderly and chronically ill prisoners are an increasing problem for correctional systems.

Question 17

In 2014 there were more than 52,000 deaths in jails and prisons in the United States.

Question 18

In 2016 the number of prison inmates serving life sentences was about 15,000.

Question 19

The majority of life sentenced inmates have been convicted of drug crimes.

Question 20

Many life sentenced inmates express feelings of depression and anxiety.

Question 21

The Sentencing Project estimates that there are about 6,000 women serving life sentences in the United States.

Question 22

As a result of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court it is no longer possible to give the death penalty to offenders who committed their crimes before their 18^th birthdays.

Question 23

The United States has the highest percentage of life sentenced inmates of any nation in the world.

Question 24

The number of elderly inmates in prison is decreasing dramatically.

Question 25

Currently the most common method of execution in the United States is the gas chamber.

Question 26

Between 1984 and 2016 what was the trend in the number of inmates sentenced to life or virtual life sentences? What factors contributed to this trend?

Question 27

What do we mean by LWOP? Is this an effective alternative to the death penalty? Why or why not?

Question 28

Between 1993 and 2016 what happened to the number of inmates in the United States who were 55 years of age or older? What factors influence that trend?

Question 29

In the past 20 years have public attitudes toward the death penalty changed? Explain.

Question 30

What are the various methods by which executions have been carried out? Why have states moved from one method to another?