Customer Reviews

Capital Punishment in the United States: A Documentary History (Primary Documents in American History and Contemporary Issues)

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This book by Vila and Morris provides a uniquely impartial look at capital punishment in the USA through the words of the people who have most influenced the evolution of the debate during the past 3.5 centuries; and the editors use excerpts from more than 100 original source documents to accomplish this mission. Instead of telling us what to believe, they help us to develop our own opinions by providing these excerpts covering a variety of perspectives, and desribing the political, social, and economic context in which the documents were recorded. We find that the volume is divided into six chapters - each covering a different era in the evolution of the death penalty debate. I found that there was a balanced selection of documents from a myriad of perspectives, and the materials were presented in a non-adversarial way. I enjoyed the book immensely. Who can use this book? First of all, political and human rights activists like myself, and of course, researchers, students, educators, speechwriters, members of the Criminal Justice System, prisoners, and concerned citizens. The book is well worth "a read" over several evenings, and will make us more aware of the highly charged issues dealing with capital punishment.