The Death Penalty

This book addresses one of the most controversial issues in the criminal justice system today--the death penalty. Paternoster et al. present a balanced perspective that focuses on both the arguments for and against capital punishment. Coverage draws on legal historical philosophical economic sociological and religious points of view.Topics include:* The history of the death penalty in the United States from the 1600s to today* The changing nature of the death penalty--changes in the types of crimes that warranted the penalty the procedures employed to put capital offenders on trial and the methods used to impose death* Constitutional/legal issues surrounding the death penalty* The influence of race on the administration of the death penalty both in the past and in the present* Justifications for and against the death penalty (retribution cost public safety and religious arguments)* Questions about the execution of innocents exonerated capital offenders and flaws in the operation of the death penalty* Public opinion and the death penalty* The death penalty and international law and practice* The future of the death penalty in America