In this paper you will consider a contemporary ethical issue. People hold divergent views of ethical issues. After you pick one of the topics below, consider one view on this issue and the support that is given for it. Think of these views as arguments. Each argument has premises and a conclusion. The stance on the issue will be the conclusion and the reasons for that stance will be the premises. In other words, only present one side of the issue. I am interested in how well you construct your argument and the strength of your support.

Write a brief outline the argument identifying premise statements with a (P), support for premise statements with a (S) and the conclusion with a (C). The outline should be no more than one page. All statements must be written as complete sentences with a subject and a verb. As you construct the argument, keep in mind the characteristic of a ‘good’ argument that are presented in Chapter 8.

Choose from these topics: Is it unpatriotic to burn the American Flag burning, Does gentrification help or hinder American cities, What should America do with Central American refugees, Are Genetically Modified foods harmful or helpful, Is the practice Plea Bargaining ethical?, Should military or other civil service be mandatory for all citizens, Are more laws needed to protect transgendered people, Is Global Warming inevitable regardless of human attempts to limit greenhouse gas emissions?, Are Voter ID laws necessary?, What to do about jail / prison overcrowding?, Should community college be tuition-free?, How should K-12 education be reformed?, Should mass shootings be considered terrorism?

EXAMPLE: Capital Punishment (you may NOT use this topic) this is how your assignment should look like

C – Capital Punishment does not deter crime, disproportionately is given to minorities, and denies justice to those wrongly sentenced and therefore should be abolished.

P1 – Death penalty convictions are more expensive to try than non-capital cases.

S – A Kansas study cited by the California commission found that a capital trial

Cost $1.2 million compared to $700,000 for a non-capital murder case. (Jost,

2010)

S – In Tennessee, adding a capital charge was found to raise the cost of a trial by

about 50 percent. (Jost, 2010)

S – And an Indiana study found that the total trial and post-trial cost of a capital

case was five times the cost for a non-capital murder. (Jost, 2010)

P2 – It is difficult to conclude that Capital Punishment deters crime.

S- Only a small percentage (varies by state) of first-degree murder cases are

tried as Capital cases.

S – Texas executes the most prisoners yet has a homicide rate similar to the

national average.

S – Homicide rates have declined over the past ten years while 14 states have

either abolished the death penalty or have a temporary moratorium.

P3 – It has become more likely that evidence could be found after a trial that changes the verdict of the capital trial.

S – The “Death Penalty Information Center says DNA testing has figured in 17 out of the

139 exonerations it counts since 1973” (Jost, 2010)

S – “According to a 2014 study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of

Sciences, more than 4 percent of the defendants who have been sentenced to death since 1973 are likely innocent.” (Gale, 2017) While this is a low number, even one wrongful death is too many.

P4 – Minority offenders of capital crimes are given capital sentences disproportionately more than white offenders of capital crimes.

S – “70 percent of the 200-plus people on death row are minorities.” (Bedau, 2004)

S – As of June 2017, African Americans accounted for nearly 42 percent of the country’s

death row population despite making up just over 13 percent of the general population of the United States. (Gale, 2017)

S – Minority offenders are often poor and cannot afford competent representation.

Works Cited

Bedau, Hugo A., and others. “Reasonable Doubts: The Growing Movement Against the Death Penalty.” American Prospect Vol.15 No.7, Jul, 2004, pp. A1-A23. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks-sirs-com.proxy189.nclive.org.

Jost, K. (2010, November 19). Death penalty debates. CQ Researcher, 20, 965-988. Retrieved from http://library.cqpress.com/

“Capital Punishment.” Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Opposing Viewpoints In Context, http://link.galegroup.com.proxy189.nclive.org/apps/doc/PC3010999123/OVIC?u=nclivewtcc&sid=OVIC&xid=407068e5. Accessed 22 May 2018.