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General Books publication date: 2009Original publication date: 1853Original Publisher: Printed by J.W. KeesSubjects: Capital punishmentLaw / Criminal Law / GeneralSocial Science / CriminologySocial Science / PenologyNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or an index.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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In late summer 1923, legal hangings in Texas came to an end, and the electric chair replaced the gallows. Of 520 convicted capital offenders sentenced to die between 1923 and 1972, 361 were actually executed, thus maintaining Texas' traditional reputation as a staunch supporter of capital punishment. This book is the single most comprehensive examination to date of capital punishment in any one state, drawing on data for legal executions from 1819 to 1990. The authors show persuasively how slavery and the racially biased practice of lynching in Texas led to the institutionalization and public approval of executions skewed according to race, class, and gender, and they also track long-term changes in public opinion up to the present. The stories of the condemned are masterfully interwoven with fact and interpretation to provide compelling reading for scholars of law, criminal justice, race relations, history, and sociology, as well as partisans on both sides of the debate. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

THE ROPE, THE CHAIR & THE NEEDLE
A very concise research on the direct development of capital punishment fromlegal and illegal lynchings to today's practice of executions in the South of the United States with focus on Texas. The authors show thatthevictims of this system have always been people of mediocre education withlittle or no financial means at all.In addition to that they show how thesystem of exclusion works:"The source of this southern concentration ofboth illegal lynchings and state-sanctioned executions is rooted in acultural readiness to engage in what we would call a logic ofexclusion."

The dominant group of people caught in this system wereAfrican-Americans, Mexican-Americans, Asians, Native Americans, andsouthern European ethnic minorities,as well as poor Whites, thusrepresenting a group of "excluded" people from the rest of society.

Thestudy has been done with accuracy and a lot of background knowledge, givingthe reader an insight not only into today's legal system and its history inthe United States, but also into social conditions and attitudes observedin the period between 1819 and 1990. A very valuable book for everybodyinterested in knowing about roots and development of Capital Punishment inTexas and the USA. An extensive bibliography at the end of the book givesthe reader a possibility to make further studies on the subject. ... Read more

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In his first book since the Pulitzer Prize-winning Polio: An American Story, renowned historian David Oshinsky takes a new and closer look at the Supreme Court's controversial and much-debated stances on capital punishment--in the landmark case of Furman v. Georgia.

Career criminal William Furman shot and killed a homeowner during a 1967 burglary in Savannah, Georgia. Because it was a "black-on-white" crime in the racially troubled South, it also was an open-and-shut case. The trial took less than a day, and the nearly all-white jury rendered a death sentence. Aided by the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund, Furman's African-American attorney, Bobby Mayfield, doggedly appealed the verdict all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 1972 overturned Furman's sentence by a narrow 5-4 vote, ruling that Georgia's capital punishment statute, and by implication all other state death-penalty laws, was so arbitrary and capricious as to violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment."

Furman effectively, if temporarily, halted capital punishment in the United States. Every death row inmate across the nation was resentenced to life in prison. The decision, however, did not rule the death penalty per se to be unconstitutional; rather, it struck down the laws that currently governed its application, leaving the states free to devise new ones that the Court might find acceptable. And this is exactly what happened. In the coming years, the Supreme Court would uphold an avalanche of state legislation endorsing the death penalty. Capital punishment would return stronger than ever, with many more defendants sentenced to death and eventually executed.

Oshinsky demonstrates the troubling roles played by race and class and region in capital punishment. And he concludes by considering the most recent Supreme Court death-penalty cases involving minors and the mentally ill, as well as the impact of international opinion. Compact and engaging, Oshinsky's masterful study reflects a gift for empathy, an eye for the telling anecdote and portrait, and a talent for clarifying the complex and often confusing legal issues surrounding capital punishment.

This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series. ... Read more

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Why does the United States continue to employ the death penalty when fifty other developed democracies have abolished it? Why does capital punishment become more problematic each year? How can the death penalty conflict be resolved?In The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment, Frank Zimring reveals that the seemingly insoluble turmoil surrounding the death penalty reflects a deep and long-standing division in American values, a division that he predicts will soon bring about the end of capital punishment in our country. On the one hand, execution would seem to violate our nation's highest legal principles of fairness and due process. It sets us increasingly apart from our allies and indeed is regarded by European nations asa barbaric and particularly egregious form of American exceptionalism. On the other hand, the death penalty represents a deeply held American belief in violent social justice that sees the hangman as an agent of local control and safeguard of community values. Zimring uncovers the most troubling symptom of this attraction to vigilante justice in the lynch mob. He shows that the great majority of executions in recent decades have occurred in precisely those Southern states where lynchings were most common a hundred years ago. It is this legacy, Zimring suggests, that constitutes both the distinctive appeal of the death penalty in the United States and one of the most compelling reasons for abolishing it.Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Contradictions in American Capital Punishment casts a clear new light on America's long and troubled embrace of the death penalty. ... Read more

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Praise for The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment
"Zimring does us a great public service in examining the United States' retention of a primitive and brutal punishment long after it was abandoned by other developed nations. This book will help insure that the inevitable abandonment of capital punishment by the United States is not delayed for another generation."

Stephen Bright
Director, Southern Center for Human Rights

"Frank Zimring's book will revolutionize how we understand the death penalty in the United States.Why, Zimring asks, does capital punishment persist in America, almost uniquely among established democracies, despite entrenched unfairness and the virtual inevitability of error?His original and provocative answer is America's vigilante tradition. Like vigilante action, the death penalty suffers from the biases of the dominant social group and the unwarranted assumption that the guilty have been correctly identified.Highlighting this uncomfortable comparison offers a promising new approach for those committed to ending this inhumane institution of American life."

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch

"Frank Zimring's new book makes a major contribution to understanding the present situation of the death penalty in the United States and to predicting what lies ahead. Central to his analysis is his judgment that a "fundamental value conflict" lies at the root of the struggle: Will America's frontier "vigilante values" that support our death penalty practices survive their collision with our attachment to "due process" values? Written in his characteristically lively style, this provocative and completely original work has much to teach both defenders and opponents of capital punishment."

Hugo Adam Bedau, author of The Death Penalty in America ... Read more

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This distinguished constitutional theorist takes a hard look at current criminal law and the Supreme Court's most recent decisions regarding the legality of capital punishment. Examining the penal system, capital punishment, and punishment in general, he reviews the continuing debate about the purpose of punishment for deterrence, rehabilitation, or retribution. He points out that the steady moderation of criminal law has not effected a corresponding moderation in criminal ways or improved the conditions under which men must live. He decries the "pious sentiment" of those who maintain that criminals need to be rehabilitated. He concludes that the real issue is not whether the death penalty deters crime, but that in an imperfect universe, justice demands the death penalty. Originally published by Basic Books in 1979. ... Read more

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Recognizing that much of the literature addressing this topic is not only out-of-date but also decidedly slanted against the death penalty, Professor Evan Mandery set about creating a book that would challenge readers to carefully evaluate their beliefs and assumptions on each of the various issues surrounding this controversial subject. The product of his efforts, Capital Punishment: A Balanced Examination, is an innovative, balanced, and comprehensive overview of capital punishment. It also probes the constitutional implications of its implementation in America, and ponders some of the hard questions concerning its applications, such as how long capital appeals take. Mandery’s examination of capital punishment requires the reader to think about some basic philosophical questions, such as would you ever kill? Each chapter begins with a primer of the issue at hand, followed by the data and critical documents necessary to make an educated assessment, ending with essays offering differing viewpoints by some of the best minds in the country, including Stephen Nathanson, Hugo Adam Bedau, Micheal Radelet, Scott Turow, Carol and Jordan Steiker, and Franklin Zimring. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

good experience
This was my first order ever through Amazon.I was very pleased and have used it since partly because of this seller.This was a big help with purchasing my college books.Thank You

Most Comprehensive and Balanced Text on Capital Punishment
As a professor of criminal justice I have had the ocassion to read numerous texts on the death penalty, and Evan Mandery's, Capital Punishment in America:A Balanced Explanation, is by far the most comprehensive and balanced examination of the topic I have seen.I highly recommend it to any serious student of the death penalty, particularly to those who already have their minds made up.

Professor Mandery's book is an outstanding compilation of the best research and scholarship on this controversial topic.

--Mark A. Stelter, J.D.
Professor of Criminal Justice
Montgomery College
Houston, Texas ... Read more

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When news breaks that a convicted murderer, released from prison, has killed again, or that an innocent person has escaped the death chamber in light of new DNA evidence, arguments about capital punishment inevitably heat up. Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, and public confusion is often the result. This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue are revealed in clear and thought-provoking detail. Is the death penalty a viable deterrent to future crimes? Does the imposition of lesser penalties, such as life imprisonment, truly serve justice in cases of the worst offences? Does the legal system discriminate against poor or minority defendants? Is the possibility of executing innocent persons sufficient grounds for abolition? In confronting such questions and making their arguments, the contributors marshal an impressive array of evidence, both statistical and from their own experiences working on death penalty cases. The book also includes the text of Governor George Ryan's March 2002 speech in which he explained why he had commuted the sentences of all prisoners on Illinois's death row. By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Informative and Balanced
Before reading this book, I was under the impression that the capital punishment debate had only two points of view.Either you are for the death penalty, or you are against it.I was mistaken.There are seven contributing authors to this work, and each has a distinctly different point of view on the capital punishment debate.These points of view range from total abolitionist (believes the death penalty is morally wrong no matter the crime) to the staunch belief that we do not use the death penalty enough nor with enough regularity for it to be effective (believes we should kill more murderers faster).The issues addressed include deterrence, arbitrariness, racism, DNA evidence, and the many imperfections in the process of sending a killer to his or her death.

Balanced
If you are looking for balanced arguments for and against the death penalty, this is probably one of the best sources currently available. The book alternates between retentionist and abolitionist papers (those for and those against capital punishment). I have personally found it very hard to find any academic arguments in favour of capital punishment and perhaps the most academic one I have found is in this book - Louis Pojman, who was also the editor of a book on moral philosophy that was used in my philosophy studies in university.

This book is mostly focussed on the death penalty as it is experienced in the United States and features some of the most well known figures in the US on this issue (including former Illinois Governor George Ryan).

Being most familiar with the abolitionist arguments, I would say that this volume is not completely comprehensive, but it is worthy and I get the feeling that this is not aimed at showing all arguments - just the primary arguments of those speaking - and it does that excellently. It is an excellent book too if you are having trouble understanding 'the other side' in this issue and well worth the read.

On a side note, if you are interested in understanding the legal and international perspective of the death penalty I recommend Professor Roger Hood's _The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective_ - the best comprehensive study on the subject I have ever found.

i dont like death
the book is really good but the issue makes me cry sometimes.thats why i give it three stars.

i dont like death
the book is really good but the issue makes me cry sometimes.thats why i give it three stars.

This Book Is Very Enlightening -TheDeath Penalty Is Evil
I am on the side that is against the death penalty. I am against capital punishment as I am aware that it is an evil practice. I could only support the death penalty if it were a deterrent to stop one person from killing another person. I am 100% convinced that it is not a deterrent. Life in prison is so terrible that it is impossible to believe that a potential killer is going to think that "I will go ahead with the killing because the punishment is only life in prison and not the death penalty." ... Read more

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What is the Catholic Church’s position on the death penalty? How and why has it changed through the ages? In his engrossing and meticulously researched book, Capital Punishment and Roman Catholic Moral Tradition, E. Christian Brugger traces the history of this thorny moral issue.

Part 1 of the book offers a detailed exegesis of the Church’s account of the morality of the death penalty as formulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Brugger argues that while the Catechism does not explicitly state that the death penalty is wrong, it lays down premises that logically imply this conclusion. Brugger argues that the fundamental moral reasoning found in the papal encyclicals Evangelium Vitae and Veritatis Splendor favor this same conclusion.

Part 2 provides an in-depth exploration of the treatment of the death penalty in the doctrine, traditional teachings, and texts of the Catholic Church. From the Old Testament and patristic writers to medieval and modern Catholic thinkers, Brugger mines this rich moral and theological tradition for arguments pertaining to capital punishment. He extracts from these teachings a "cumulative consensus" that capital punishment is morally legitimate and juxtaposes this traditional view with current church teaching.

Brugger’s historical and systematic analysis of contemporary and traditional Catholic teachings on the morality of the death penalty leads him to conclude that a philosophically consistent, doctrinally sound framework and vocabulary can and should be developed for rejecting the death penalty in principle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good research--disconnected conclusion
Sadly, all this excellent digging into Patristic thought culminated in simple maralizing about capital punishment. Citing the US Conference of Catholic Bishops should be a red flag to anyone interested in scholarship instead of policy. The talented author here found what the patres said but one must suspect that he did not penetrate their thought. The Holy Father knew intimately the thought of the earliest christians as well as the philosophy that surrounded them when he wrote about capital punishment. This book gets the information but not the sense of what led John Paul II to restrict the need for what today is considered drastic punishment.

Frighteningly Poignant
I found Dr. Brugger's view of capital punishment and the Catholic view to be persuasive and articulate.I now consider the concept of capital punishment to be the greatest waste in humanity, perhaps only outdone by wrapping your Forest Green Porsce 911 around a tree.

Dr. Bruggers views should act as a beacon to us all.

A serious, in-depth, scholarly study
In Capital Punishment And Roman Catholic Moral Tradition, E. Christian Brugger (Assistant Professor of Ethics, Department of Religious Studies, Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana) critically examines the position of the Catholic Church on the death penalty down through the centuries to the present day. Professor Brugger postulates that while the Catechism of the Roman Catholic faith does not expressly condemn the death penalty, neither does it imply through logic that the death penalty is wrong. Capital Punishment And Roman Catholic Moral Tradition is a confidently recommended to a Roman Catholic readership as being a serious, in-depth, scholarly study of a controversial ethical, moral, and social issue. ... Read more

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Is capital punishment just? Does it deter people from murder? What is the risk that we will execute innocent people? These are the usual questions at the heart of the increasingly heated debate about capital punishment in America. In this bold and impassioned book, Austin Sarat seeks to change the terms of that debate. Capital punishment must be stopped, Sarat argues, because it undermines our democratic society.

Sarat unflinchingly exposes us to the realities of state killing. He examines its foundations in ideas about revenge and retribution. He takes us inside the courtroom of a capital trial, interviews jurors and lawyers who make decisions about life and death, and assesses the arguments swirling around Timothy McVeigh and his trial for the bombing in Oklahoma City. Aided by a series of unsettling color photographs, he traces Americans' evolving quest for new methods of execution, and explores the place of capital punishment in popular culture by examining such films as Dead Man Walking, The Last Dance, and The Green Mile.

Sarat argues that state executions, once used by monarchs as symbolic displays of power, gained acceptance among Americans as a sign of the people's sovereignty. Yet today when the state kills, it does so in a bureaucratic procedure hidden from view and for which no one in particular takes responsibility. He uncovers the forces that sustain America's killing culture, including overheated political rhetoric, racial prejudice, and the desire for a world without moral ambiguity. Capital punishment, Sarat shows, ultimately leaves Americans more divided, hostile, indifferent to life's complexities, and much further from solving the nation's ills. In short, it leaves us with an impoverished democracy.

The book's powerful and sobering conclusions point to a new abolitionist politics, in which capital punishment should be banned not only on ethical grounds but also for what it does to Americans and what we cherish. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Was a Textbook for a class...
This was my favorite book of the semester!I had to read it for one of my classes and I actually am going to keep it.It was interesting and a fairly easy read for a college student.The book provided many different examples and thoughts on problems with the death penalty and really helped to open my eyes to a different perspective. ... Read more

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Examines both the legal and illegal uses of the death penalty in American history. ... Read more

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Since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976, eleven women have been put to death for murder. Each case involves a personal story with unique tragic elements. Yet common themes reflect how the criminal justice system defines crimes committed by women in a particular gendered context. Wretched Sisters offers an analysis of the legal and popular cultural circumstances that determine why a small number of women are sentenced to death, and provides an empathetic account of how these eleven came to be subjected to the ultimate punishment. ... Read more

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Reviews opposing arguments regarding the death penalty, including whether or not it is just, deters murder, and is applied fairly. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A useful part of this series
The Opposing Viewpoints series is a good series for students and others who are working on some of the hot button issues of today. Each volume contains essays and articles that explore the issues thoroughly from several different angles. Sometimes there are two clear sides, but sometimes it is a bit more nuanced.

This particular volume deals with the Death Penalty. The issues explored within the volume include the justice of the death penalty - is this a just punishment?Can it be humanely performed, and is this an issue that needs to be addressed.The issue is explored from the standpoint of the victim's family as well as the society issue of vengeance versus justice.The question of whether or not it deters murder and other serious crimes is explored on both sides.Finally, the issue of the uneven and unfair application of the death penalty, particularly with regard to minorities, is considered.

Overall, this is a very good beginners book to the issue. It helps to set the guidelines for debate and discussion. There is an appendix with facts and statistics about the death penalty, study questions, further reading suggestions and an index.The author, Gail B. Stewart, has written over 80 books for children and young adults on a wide range of topics. ... Read more

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One in the series New Dialogues in Philosophy, edited by the author himself, Dale Jacquette presents a fictional dialogue over a three-day period on the ethical complexities of capital punishment. Jacquette moves his readers from outlining basic issues in matters of life and death, to questions of justice and compassion, with a concluding dialogue on the conditional and unconditional right to life. Jacquette's characters talk plainly and thoughtfully about the death penalty, and readers are left to determine for themselves how best to think about the morality of putting people to death. ... Read more

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Based on empirical evidence, Death Nation offers a fair and reasoned analysis of capital punishment as it is actually practiced in the United States. It includes a discussion of death penalty history, an analysis of the death penalty law and a discussion of various policy implications. Rather than present philosophical or moral arguments, it presents findings from a survey administered to dozens of capital punishment experts throughout the United States. Included in the book are fact check sections that analyze these expert opinions for accuracy based on available empirical evidence.  Examines important questions such as: Do executions reduce murder?; Is capital punishment biased against any race, gender, or class of people?; Is the death penalty used against the innocent?; Is the application of the death penalty plagued by significant problem?; Why is the United States the only western industrialized nation to continue to carry out executions? Uses empirical evidencerather than philosophical or moral arguments, to analyze the realities of the death penalty as it is actually practiced in the United States.  Captures and presents the opinions of capital punishment experts with regard to the effectiveness of the death penalty in America, as well as its alleged problems.  Anyone interested in capital punishment within the United States and those involved with death penalty policies and states that maintain capital punishment.