Overview

Should the death penalty be considered cruel and unusual punishment? This was the question brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1972. Author D. J. Herda examines the ideas and arguments behind this landmark case. Presented in a lively, thought-provoking overview, Herda brings to life the people and events of this controversial decision and sheds light on the current controversy still raging across the country today.

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9780766034280

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Organized chronologically, this scholarly study presents the issue of race and the inequitable application of the death penalty in the United States. In this treatment, the focus is not on the specific facts of the case or the guilt or innocence of the defendant, but on the broader social and political reasons for the inconsistent application of the death penalty. The text provides a brief and yet panoramic treatment of the death penalty in America, from the founders to today. Furman v. Georgia was the crystalline moment when the Supreme Court was confronted with racial disparities in the imposition of the penalty itself. Using comparisons of sentencing outcomes by race, Furman's attorneys ultimately changed the way the death penalty would be imposed. The eighth amendment cruel and unusual punishment argument raised in Furman is one that has since been addressed, arguably, by changes to many state laws. However, as a result of the five to four Supreme Court ruling, many states had a virtual moratorium on the death penalty for years. Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (the penultimate chapter) and The Passage of Time are helpful post-scripts that present the after-effects of this case and other major challenges to the death penalty. The book excels at displaying the variability in how laws are applied as they are tailored to suit social attitudes and ends. It also provides a compelling and clear explication of the justice system as it acts to check and balance social bias. The level of the narrative is appropriate to the young audience and the glossary is age-appropriate and helpful. There is also a useful index and chapter notes indicate resources and citation sources. There are few photographs, but those that are selected are, while chilling (electric chairs), appropriate; helpful charts illustrate the points about racial disparities in sentencing., Children's Literature

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