Peer Review

Capital Punishment in Missouri

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Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This site provides information on death row inmates, executions, and a brief history of capital punishment in Missouri. The site includes photos as well as more extensive information, including a brief description of the crime, a short biography, and a description of legal activity associated with the conviction, sentencing, and appeals process of each inmate. Similar information along with photographs is given for the 81 inmates currently on death row. The site includes audio files of interviews with death row inmates.
Type of Material:: Collection - lists of inmates and execution dates with brief descriptions - links to news and media coverage.
Recommended Uses:: Would be good for homework and team work. Also useful for starting in-class discussions.
Technical Requirements:: Tested in Chrome.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: The goals would appear to be to provide information concerning the death penalty in Missouri as well as a general understanding of the realities of death row and capital punishment.
Target Student Population:: College General Ed.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None.

Rating:
Strengths:: Very nicely organized - links to articles.
Concerns:: Could benefit from inclusion of legal documents, as well as transcripts from the cases. There are no instructions for use; it is mostly a repository for archiving stories of inmates' crimes and their subsequent punishment. Focuses solely on Missouri. Additionally, it seems to have not been updated in four years.

Rating:
Strengths:: Well presented. Could be used by either supporters or opponents of the death penalty. Not a lot of editorial comments. The resources are considerable - case files, audio clips, and links to a large quantity of details. The summaries are well-written and the cohesion of the site lends it to further exploration.
Concerns:: There are no objectives for learning mentioned. No assessment materials are provided.

Rating:
Strengths:: The material is clearly presented, organized and easily navigated, so that the desired materials can be easily located and used.
Concerns:: The purpose of the material is not made very clear, neither does it give direction on pedagogical possibilities. There are some non-functional links, and some links that appear to go to the wrong places. This is likely due to the fact that the site has not been updated in some years.

Other Issues and Comments:: This is not an educational site, simply an archive. It could be useful for law or deviance, or criminology and ethics classes, but the instructor will have to devise the methods of incorporation of this information. The most pressing need for this site is an update. Since 2014, there have been several executions and commutations in Missouri that could be added to the site.
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