The Death Penalty in America Current Controversies

by Bedau, Hugo Adam

• ISBN13: 9780195122862
• ISBN10: 0195122860
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-05-28
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies, Hugo Adam Bedau, one of our preeminent scholars on the subject, provides a comprehensive sourcebook on the death penalty, making the process of informed consideration not only possible but fascinating as well. No mere revision of thethird edition of The Death Penalty in America--which the New York Times praised as "the most complete, well-edited and comprehensive collection of readings on the pros and cons of the death penalty"--this volume brings together an entirely new selection of 40 essays and includes updated statisticaland research data, recent Supreme Court decisions, and the best current contributions to the debate over capital punishment. From the status of the death penalty worldwide to current attitudes of Americans toward convicted killers, from legal arguments challenging the constitutionality of the deathpenalty to moral arguments enlisting the New Testament in support of it, from controversies over the role of race and class in the judicial system to proposals to televise executions, Bedau gathers readings that explore all the most compelling aspects of this most compelling issue.

Author Biography

Hugo Adam Bedau is Austin Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University.

Table of Contents

Tables
Figures
Background and Developments	p. 3
Offenses Punishable by Death	p. 36
Proposed State Death Penalty Legislation, 1994	p. 42
Criminal Homicide	p. 55
Death Row Prisoners	p. 65
The Status of the Death Penalty Worldwide	p. 78
Hardening of the Attitudes: Americans' Views on the Death Penalty	p. 90
Sentencing for Life: Americans Embrace Alternatives to the Death Penalty	p. 116
Murder, Capital Punishment, and Deterrence: A Review of the Literature	p. 135
A National Study of the Furman-Commuted Inmates: Assessing the Threat to Society from Capital Offenders	p. 162
Prison Homicides, Recidivist Murder, and Life Imprisonment	p. 176
Furman v. Georgia, 1972: The Death Penalty as Administered Is Unconstitutional	p. 189
Gregg v. Georgia, 1976: The Death Penalty Is Not Per Se Unconstitutional	p. 196
Woodson v. North Carolina, 1976: Mandatory Death Penalties Are Unconstitutional	p. 206
Coker v. Georgia, 1977: The Death Penalty for Rape Is Unconstitutional	p. 210
Constitutional Interpretation, History, and the Death Penalty	p. 214
Why the Death Penalty Is a Cruel and Unusual Punishment	p. 232
Habeas Corpus and Other Constitutional Controversies	p. 238
International Human Rights Law and the Death Penalty in America	p. 246
McCleskey v. Kemp, 1987: A Racially Disproportionate Death Penalty System Is Not Unconstitutional	p. 254
Death Penalty Sentencing: Research Indicates Pattern of Racial Disparities	p. 268
Counsel for the Poor: The Death Sentence Not for the Worst Crime but for the Worst Lawyer	p. 275
The Deadliest D.A.	p. 319
How American Juries Decide Death Penalty Cases: The Capital Jury Project	p. 333
Innocence and the Death Penalty: Assessing the Danger of Mistaken Executions	p. 344
An Appeal for Clemency: The Case of Harold Lamont Otey	p. 361
To See or Not to See: Televising Executions	p. 384
Witness to Another Execution	p. 387
Millions Misspent: What Politicians Don't Say About the High Costs of the Death Penalty	p. 401
The New Testament and Moral Arguments for Capital Punishment	p. 415
Noah's Covenant, the New Testament, and Christian Social Order	p. 429
The Death Penalty Once More	p. 445
A Reply to van den Haag	p. 457
Bibliography	p. 471
Table of Cases	p. 501
Index	p. 503
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.