Domestic policy

 

One of the domestic policies that I would change is the death penalty. The reason for this is because the death penalty is a policy that has led to the execution of innocent lives. Research has shown that some of the individuals that were sentenced to a death penalty were innocent and did not commit the delinquencies they were executed for (Williams 2017). Another reason that I would change this policy is because of racial discrimination when the death penalty is being administered. African- Americans have continually been sentenced to death penalties since the past and the most disturbing fact is that those that were executed killed white victims. These differences have led to racial discrimination and studies show that there is an inequality in the sentencing of a death penalty. Lack of consistency in the way the death penalty is imposed is another reason for the change. This policy lacks a particular system on how it should be executed making it biased and discriminative. The racial inequalities in jurisdictions in death penalty sentences suggest that this policy is being used in a way that discriminates according to race.

The legislative process is the procedure where elected officials introduce and pass a bill that eventually becomes the law. When a bill is introduced, it is then taken to a committee with authority over the key subject of the legislation (Leston-Bandeira & Thompson 2017). Sometimes a bill can be referred to several committees or a sub-committee first. The relevant committee has to determine if the bill will have a hearing and if it the proposed bill will be debated upon, or amended. The amendments are then adopted or rejected and thereafter the committee chair moves to vote in favor of the bill. When the bill is voted in favor, it goes to the entire body of the house, and if not the bill dies. The committee report is then written describing the intention of the legislation, its history, and the effect of the existing laws, and what the majority of the committee members think.

The majority leader and speaker of the house agree to whether and when the bill will come before the house and the senate to be discussed on and amended. In the two chambers, a majority vote is necessary for an amendment to be agreed upon and for the bill to be passed. If there is an agreement concerning the bill from the two chambers, a conference report is made showing the recommendations for the changes to be made (Leston-Bandeira & Thompson 2017). A bill expires if either of the house chambers discards the conference report. When the conference report is approved, the bill is directed to the president. If the legislation is supported by the president, he signs it and it turns into a law.

The Presidential executive action is an approved command from the president to the national organizations that normally have much similar power of the law. An executive action allows the president to instruct the administration on the way they should work within the bounds that have already been set by the legislative body and the constitution (Chen (2017). The executive action allows the president to make changes in policies without consulting or going through congress. An executive order has to identify if the order has its basis on the presidential mandate that is given to him by the constitution. When the president gives an executive order, the mandate is documented in the federal catalog and can be applied in similar to how it could be if Congress had enacted it as law. An executive order is also reviewed and can be invalidated or canceled if it is not constitutional.

           The public can influence the death penalty changes by the use of political decision-makers, religious, and other public society leaders, and the media. Regional and international organizations can also help in influencing the changes by shedding light and acknowledging the fact that the death penalty is unfair and promotes inequality (Keim & Armstrong 2015). Human rights organizations advocate for the abolishing of the death penalty policy arguing that a human being has a right to life. The execution of individuals wrongfully and without enough proof that the death penalty serves as a deterrent is another reason that has been raised. The media has been used to air public opinions concerning the death penalty and the reason why it should be changed or abolished. The human rights regional and international organizations have consistently promoted human rights and the norm that prohibits the cruel, inhumane punishment. Abolishment movements towards the abolishing of the death penalty policy have been on the rise in recent years reducing the number of death penalties in several states. Discussions by different organizations on the wrongful convictions of individuals and the failure of the legal system to provide adequate insights on death penalty convictions. According to studies, public opinion is in favor of the death penalty abolishment because it is unfair and discriminative.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Chen, M. H. (2017). Administrator-in-Chief: The President and Executive Action in Immigration

Law. Admin. L. Rev., 69, 347.

Keim, S., & Armstrong, B. (2015). Fighting to the death: Thoughts for anti-death penalty

activists to make further progress towards the goal of an end to judicial and extra-judicial executions. Pandora's Box, (2015), 65.

Leston-Bandeira, C., & Thompson, L. (2017). Integrating the view of the public into the formal

legislative process: public reading stage in the UK House of Commons. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 23(4), 508-528.

Williams, K. (2017). Why and How the Supreme Court Should End the Death Penalty. USFL

Rev., 51, 271.