The Death Penalty: America's Experience with Capital Punishment Book

Preface x

Foreword Stephen B. Bright xiii

Part I The Enduring Legacy of Capital Punishment in the United States

Introduction 2

Chapter 1 Capital Punishment in the Early Period: 1608-1929 5

Capital Crimes and Capital Statutes in the Early Period 5

Characteristics of Executions in the Early Period 8

Changes in the Practice of the Death Penalty in the Early Period 9

Methods of Execution in the Early Period 12

Location of the Death Penalty in the Early Period 20

Chapter Summary 22

Discussion Questions 23

Student Resources 24

Endnotes 24

Chapter 2 Capital Punishment in the Premodern Period: 1930-1967 27

Capital Crimes and Capital Statutes in the Premodern Period 27

Characteristics of Executions in the Premodern Period 29

Methods of Execution in the Premodern Period 31

Location of the Death Penalty in the Premodern Period 35

Chapter Summary 37

Discussion Questions 38

Student Resources 39

Endnotes 39

Chapter 3 Capital Punishment in the Modern Period: 1976-Present 40

Capital Crimes and Capital Statutes in the Modern Period 41

Characteristics of Executions in the Modern Period 45

Methods of Execution in the Modern Period 53

Location of the Death Penalty in the Modern Period 59

Changes in the Practice of the Death Penalty in the Modern Period 64

The Federal and Military Death Penalty 67

Chapter Summary 69

Discussion Questions 71

Student Resources 71

Endnote 72

Part II Legal History, Constitutional Requirements, and Common Justifications for Capital Punishment in the United States

Introduction 74

Chapter 4 A Brief Legal History of Capital Punishment in the United States 76

Early Constitutional Challenges to theMethod of Imposing Death 76

Constitutional Theories About What the Eighth Amendment Prohibits 79

A Definition of 'Cruel and Unusual' 80

The Death Penalty's Decline in Popularity and Challenges to Its Constitutionality-The Prelude to McGautha v. California 82

The Death Penalty Is Not Procedurally Flawed-The Case of McGautha v. California 85

The Death Penalty as Currently Administered Is So Procedurally Flawed That It Constitutes 'Cruel and Unusual Punishment'-The Case of Furman v. Georgia 89

Chapter Summary 95

Discussion Questions 95

Student Resources 96

Endnotes 96

Chapter 5 Constitutional Requirements for Capital Punishment in the United States 98

The Response to Furman: Mandatory and Guided Discretion Capital Statutes 99

The Execution of Special Groups-The Retarded, the Young, and the Mentally Ill 108

The Death Penalty for the Mentally Retarded 109

The Death Penalty for Juveniles 112

The Death Penalty for the Mentally Ill 115

Chapter Summary 117

Discussion Questions 118

Student Resources 119

Endnotes 119

Chapter 6 Common Justifications for the Death Penalty 121

Retribution: The Moral Argument for the Death Penalty 121

Kantian Retribution 122

Berns' Argument 125

Van den Haag's Argument 126

Other Retributivist Views 127

Some Examples 130

Cost: The Financial Argument for the Death Penalty 131

Incapacitation: One of the Public Safety Arguments for the Death Penalty 133

General Deterrence: The Other Public Safety Argument for the Death Penalty 138

Sellin's Research 138

Ehrlich's Strategy 140

Other Researchers 142

Religious Positions For and Against the Death Penalty 148

Chapter Summary 153

Discussion Questions 153

Student Resources 154

Endnotes 155

Part III The Administration of the Death Penalty: Issues of Race and Human Fallability

Introduction 158

Chapter 7 Race, the Law, and Punishment 160

The Peculiar Institution 160

The Slave Codes 162

Criminal Codes 164

Race and Legal Institutions After the Civil War 166

The Black Codes 167

Radical Reconstruction 169

Jim Crow Laws 172

Disenfranchisement 173

Violence Against Blacks 175

Chapter Summary 181

Discussion Questions 182

Student Resources 182

Endnotes 183

Chapter 8 Race and Capital Punishment 184

Race and Capital Punishment: 1930-1967 184

The Indictment and Charging Decision 187

The Conviction and Sentencing Decision 189

The Commutation Decision 193

Evidence of Racially Disparate Treatment in the Courts 196

Race and Capital Punishment, 1976 to the Present 199

The Indictment and Charging Decision 199

The Conviction and Sentencing Decision 204

Post-Furman Evidence of Racial Discrimination in Capital Sentencing Before the Courts-McCleskey v. Kemp 209

Chapter Summary 212

Discussion Questions 212

Student Resources 213

Endnotes 214

Chapter 9 Problems in Administering the Death Penalty 215

The Possibly Innocent 216

The Carlos DeLuna Case 218

The Joseph O'Dell Case 220

The Gary Graham Case 221

The Exonerated 224

Gary Gauger 224

Anthony Porter 225

Frank Lee Smith 226

Kirk Bloodsworth 227

Rolando Cruz 228

Ryan Matthews 230

A 'Broken System' 230

Ineffective or Incompetent Defense Counsel 231

Prosecutor and Law Enforcement Misconduct 239

Jail House Snitches and 'Junk Science' 244

Chapter Summary 252

Discussion Questions 252

Student Resources 253

Endnotes 254

Part IV What's to Come of the Death Penalty

Introduction 258

Chapter 10 Capital Punishment in America's Future 259

Public Support for the Death Penalty in the United States 259

The Death Penalty in Other Countries 266

Predictions About the Future of the Death Penalty in America 272

What About Life Without the Possibility of Parole? 277

Chapter Summary 278

Discussion Questions 279

Student Resources 279

Endnotes 280

About the Authors 281

References 282

Case Index 296

Name Index 297

Subject Index 301