Death Justice: Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, and the Contradictions of the Death Penalty [Paperback]

Kenneth W. Miller (Author), David Niven (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1593323409 | ISBN-13: 978-1593323400 | Publication Date: March 5, 2009

Justice Scalia has warned of the danger of fallacies that pass for truth simply because they are frequently repeated. Death Justice argues that one fallacy that passes for truth is the widely held notion that Justices Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas applied a fixed standard itself based on a fixed meaning of the Constitution to death penalty cases. In defiance of their judicial rhetoric, their conclusions simply defy their, or any, conception of consistency. And without a logical, consistent foundation, their findings on the death penalty come to resemble little more than personal political preferences. More to the point, the contradictory arguments of the three justices have contributed to a unique public policy that exists outside the bounds of the normal limits of American politics. Thanks in part to Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas, on the death penalty the U.S. stands far apart from its allies and quite close to its enemies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Death Justice provides an insightful perspective of the death penalty jurisprudence of Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas. This well-written book provides a compelling analysis of these Supreme Court Justices and the important role of consistency in the Supreme Court s capital punishment opinions. --Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, Professor of Law, C.U.N.Y. School of Law

Clearly written, well documented, and persuasively argued, Death Justice provides an informative overview of case law and public and philosophical perspectives on the death penalty as it reveals the inconsistent logic used by Rehnquist, Scalia, and Thomas to justify capital punishment. The contradictory rationales and disregard for empirical evidence is especially disturbing considering that we rely on the Supreme Court to be the ultimate arbiters of justice, and that Scalia and Thomas have been joined by Roberts and Alito who appear to be willing to continue this approach to death penalty issues --Wanda D. Foglia, Professor of Law and Justice Studies, Rowan University

About the Author

Kenneth Miller received a J.D. from the University of Arizona s College of Law and currently teaches in the School of Justice & Social Inquiry at Arizona State University. His research on the death penalty, legal globalization, and white collar crime has appeared in numerous law reviews and scholarly journals. David Niven is the author of four previous scholarly books including The Politics of Injustice: The Freedom Rides, the Kennedys, and the Electoral Consequences of a Moral Compromise (University of Tennessee Press). David's research on the death penalty has appeared in Social Science Quarterly and elsewhere. David (Ph.D., Ohio State University) joins the faculty of Wright State University in 2009.

Product Details

• Paperback: 246 pages
• Publisher: LFB Scholarly Publishing (March 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593323409
• ISBN-13: 978-1593323400
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,602,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.