NCJ Number
175210
Date Published
1996
Length
262 pages
Annotation
Building on in-depth interviews with movement leaders and records of key abolitionist organizations, this book traces the struggle against the pro-death penalty backlash that has steadily gained momentum since the 1970s.
Abstract
The book reviews the conservative turn in the courts that, over the past two decades, has forced death penalty opponents to rely less on litigation strategies that once served them well. The book also describes efforts by death penalty opponents to mount a broad-based educational and political assault on what they see as a cruel, racist, ineffective, and expensive manifestation of a criminal justice system gone wrong. The author discusses reasons for the failure to mobilize widespread opposition to executions and assesses the prospects for opposition to capital punishment in the United States. References and notes