NCJ Number
175271
Editor(s)
H A Bedau
Date Published
1982
Length
437 pages
Annotation
This book brings together historical, sociological, psychological, legal, and political perspectives on capital punishment in America, presenting the best arguments from both sides of the issue.
Abstract
The first chapter provides a historical overview of the use of capital punishment in America, followed by a chapter with three papers on "The Laws, the Crimes, and the Executions." These three papers address the offenses punishable by death, the volume and rate of murder, and the death sentence and executions. The third chapter considers "American Attitudes Toward the Death Penalty." Findings are presented from research on attitudes toward capital punishment, including recent survey research data. The fourth chapter focuses on "Deterrence: Problems, Doctrines, and Evidence." Papers in this chapter discuss whether capital punishment has a deterrent effect on the committing of capital offenses, with particular attention to prison murder and terrorism. Five papers address "Criminal Justice and the Capital Offender." Topics covered include racial discrimination in the application of the death penalty, miscarriages of justice in death penalty cases, and the cost of the death penalty. Five papers debate whether the death penalty meets the legal definition of "cruel and unusual" punishment. In the two concluding chapters, five papers argue for the continuation of the death penalty, and five papers argue for its abolition. This edition includes the most recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions bearing on the administration of the death penalty. 456 references, a subject index, and extensive tabular data for papers that involve empirical studies