Overview

Capital punishment is one of the more controversial subjects in the social sciences, especially in criminal justice and criminology. Over the last decade or so, the United States has experienced a significant decline in the number of death sentences and executions. Since 2007, eight states have abolished capital punishment, bringing the total number of states without the death penalty to 19, plus the District of Columbia, and more are likely to follow suit in the near future (Nebraska reinstated its death penalty in 2016). Worldwide, 70 percent of countries have abolished capital punishment in law or in practice. The current trend suggests the eventual demise of capital punishment in all but a few recalcitrant states and countries. Within this context, a fresh look at capital punishment in the United States and worldwide is warranted. The Routledge Handbook on Capital Punishment comprehensively examines the topic of capital punishment from a wide variety of perspectives. A thoughtful introductory chapter from experts Bohm and Lee presents a contextual framework for the subject matter, and chapters present state-of-the-art analyses of a range of aspects of capital punishment, grouped into five sections: (1) Capital Punishment: History, Opinion, and Culture; (2) Capital Punishment: Rationales and Religious Views; (3) Capital Punishment and Constitutional Issues; (4) The Death Penalty’s Administration; and (5) The Death Penalty’s Consequences. This is a key collection for students taking courses in prisons, penology, criminal justice, criminology, and related subjects, and is also an essential reference for academics and practitioners working in prison service or in related agencies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Robert M. Bohm (University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA) ,  Gavin Lee (University of West Georgia)
Publisher:   Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint:   Routledge
Weight:   1.451kg
ISBN:  

9781138651579

ISBN 10:   1138651575
Pages:   706
Publication Date:   20 December 2017
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"PART 1: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: HISTORY, OPINION, AND CULTURE A. History 1. The American Death Penalty: A Short (But Long) History John Bessler, University of Baltimore School of Law 2. Capital Punishment and Lynching Margaret Vandiver, University of Memphis B. Opinion 3. Public Opinion About the Death Penalty James D. Unnever, University of South Florida, Sarasota, Manatee; Leah Butler, University of Cincinnati; Francis Cullen, University of Cincinnati; and Angela Thielo, University of Louisville 4. The Marshall Hypotheses John Cochran, University of South Florida C. Culture 5. Media and Capital Punishment Matthew Robinson, Appalachian State University 6. Popular Media and the Death Penalty: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Death Penalty in Film Maya Pagni Barak, University of Michigan, Dearborn 7. Why We Need the Death Penalty Andrew Fulkerson, Southeastern Missouri State University PART 2: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: RATIONALES AND RELIGIOUS VIEWS A. Rationales 8. Retribution George Kain, Western Connecticut State University, and Dale Recinella, St. Mary Mother of Mercy 9. General Deterrence and Brutalization Gennaro Vito, University of Louisville, and Anthony Vito, University of West Georgia 10. Incapacitation and Life without Parole Jon Sorensen, Texas A&M University, Prairie View, and Thomas Reidy, ABPP B. Religious Views 11. Christianity and the Death Penalty Tobias Winright, St. Louis University 12. Judaism and the Death Penalty Edna Erez, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Kathy Laster, Victoria University 13. Death Penalty in Sharia Law Sanaz Alasti, Lamar University, and Eric Bronson, Lamar University PART 3: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES 14. The U.S. Supreme Court and the Death Penalty Katherine Bennett, Armstrong State University, and H. Chris Tecklenberg, Armstrong State University 15. Capital Punishment and Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances Carol Steiker, Harvard Law School, and Jordan Steiker, University of Texas Law School 16. Capital Offenders’ Intellectual Disability and ""Insanity"": Excluding and Delaying the Death Penalty Peggy Tobolowsky, University of North Texas PART 4: THE DEATH PENALTY’S ADMINISTRATION 17. The Financial Costs of the Death Penalty: Examining the Evidence Gordon Waldo, Florida State University 18. Prosecutors and Capital Punishment Stacy Parker, Muskingum University 19. Counsel for the Despised and Condemned: Capital Defense Attorneys Jeffrey Kirchmeier, City University of New York School of Law 20. The Capital Jury and Sentencing: Neither Guided Nor Individualized Wanda Foglia, Rowan University, and Marla Sandys, Indiana University Bloomington 21. The Penalty Phase of the Capital Murder Trial: A Social-Psychological Analysis Mark Costanzo, Claremont McKenna College, and Zoey Costanzo, Cornell University 22. The Appellate Process in Capital Cases Vanessa Woodward Griffin, University of West Georgia, and O. Hayden Griffin III, University of Alabama, Birmingham 23. Clemency: Failsafe or Fantasy? Cathleen Burnett, University of Missouri, Kansas City 24. Execution Methods in a Nutshell Deborah Denno, Fordham University 25. California’s Chaotic Death Penalty Stacy Mallicoat, California State University, Fullerton; Brenda L. Vogel, California State University, Long Beach; and David Crawford, Death Penalty Focus 26. Reflections on the Abattoir - Texas Dennis Longmire, Sam Houston State University, and Alex Updegrove, Sam Houston State University 27. The Federal Death Penalty Stephanie Mizrahi, California State University, Sacramento 28. The Death Penalty and the United States Armed Forces Catherine Grosso, Michigan State University PART 5: THE DEATH PENALTY’S CONSEQUENCES 29. The Topography of Capital Punishment: Geographic Variations in Seeking, Achieving, and Carrying Out the Death Penalty Adam Trahan, University of North Texas; Kaleigh B. Laird, University of North Texas; and Douglas N. Evans, Mercy College 30. Age, Class, and Sex Disparities in Capital Punishment Etta Morgan, Jackson State University 31. Race and the Death Penalty Kristie Blevins, Eastern Kentucky University, and Kevin Minor, Eastern Kentucky University 32. Wrongful Capital Convictions Talia Roitberg Harmon, Niagara University, and Diana Falco, Niagara University 33. Life and Work on Death Row Robert Johnson, American University 34. Capital Punishment and Victims’ and Offenders’ Families Lynn Pazzani, University of West Georgia 35. Capital Punishment’s Co-Victims Kyle Burgason, Iowa State University 36. Exoneration: Life After Death Row Scott Vollum, University of Minnesota, Duluth 37. The Demise of the Death Penalty with Special Focus on the United States Robert M. Bohm, University of Central Florida"

Reviews

'The broad range of important themes and topics covered, all in one text, will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals. The editors have done excellent work in identifying a fairly wide readership and outlining a text that will appeal to that readership...In addition to the book being well-structured and including a range of important themes and issues around capital punishment, the chapters are authored by well-respected scholars. The collection of authors is impressive, and the book is sure to reflect current research and scholarship.' - DJ Williams, Idaho State University

The broad range of important themes and topics covered, all in one text, will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals. The editors have done excellent work in identifying a fairly wide readership and outlining a text that will appeal to that readership...In addition to the book being well-structured and including a range of important themes and issues around capital punishment, the chapters are authored by well-respected scholars. The collection of authors is impressive, and the book is sure to reflect current research and scholarship. - DJ Williams, Idaho State University

Author Information

Robert M. Bohm, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. He has published numerous books, book chapters, and journal articles in the areas of criminal justice and criminology. His books on capital punishment include DEATHQUEST: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States, 5th ed. (2017); America's Experiment with Capital Punishment: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of the Ultimate Sanction, 3rd ed. (with James R. Acker and Charles S. Lanier, 2014); Capital Punishment’s Collateral Damage (2013); The Past as Prologue: The Supreme Court’s Pre-Modern Jurisprudence and Its Influence on the Supreme Court’s Modern Death Penalty Decisions (2012); Ultimate Sanction: Understanding the Death Penalty Through Its Many Voices and Many Sides (2010); The Death Penalty Today (2008); and The Death Penalty in America: Current Research (1991). Professor Bohm is a Fellow of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (1999), and he previously served as the organization’s president (1992–1993). He also is the recipient of the Academy’s Founder's Award (2001) and Bruce Smith Sr. Award (2008). Gavin Lee, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of West Georgia. His research interests include the death penalty, serial murder, and criminological theory. His work has been published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice; the International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice and Law; the Southwestern Journal of Criminology; and he has written several chapters in encyclopedia and edited works.

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