Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006 [Hardcover]

Michelangelo Delfino (Author), Mary E. Day (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2008

This is a book about the taking of lives, grim events that no pleas or acts of mercy can undo. Herein, each and every crime for which a person was executed in the United States between January 2005 and December 2006 is described. This book is not easy reading. In some cases the crimes are exacted with uncontrolled rage focused on one specific victim and in others with a total indifference as to the life taken. What is common to all these murders is that each and every one resulted in at least one other death - a judicially ordered execution. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution dictates that punishment must fit the crime forbidding cruel and unusual punishment. Only by studying each and every one of these horrific and shocking crimes can it be determined if the ultimate sentence of death was imposed with all deference to the laws of a civilized society. Death Penalty USA 2005-2006 is Delfino and Day's third scholarly book and the first in a series of books intended to document all 21st century capital punishment cases in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Michelangelo Delfino and Mary E. Day are well-respected research scientists who have been awarded dozens of U.S., European, and Canadian patents and who have published more than 100 scientific peer-reviewed papers. Praised by the press for acting together as the 'Internet Gadflys' Dr. Delfino and Ms. Day published writings that exposed a major Silicon Valley scandal; led to the arrest and prosecution by the U.S. government of a terrorist harbored by Agilent Technologies, Inc.; and alerted the public to the lawlessness of seven Santa Clara County California Court Judges including the infamous Jack Komar - actions that resulted in landmark California Supreme Court and Appellate Court rulings. Living near the sea, the couple travel extensively researching material for future books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Mobeta Publishing (January 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972514120
• ISBN-13: 978-0972514125
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,105,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a unique book ..., April 1, 2008

By 

Ambrose (Toledo, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006 (Hardcover)

about capital punishment in which the two authors have done an outstanding job of recreating the capital crimes and the legal proceedings that ultimately resulted in the execution of 59 men and one woman in 2005 and 53 men in 2006 by the most advanced country on the planet. The writing is appropriately dry and the facts are kept at unemotional level which help to make the book appeal to people like myself who want to evaluate the totality of each murder on a case by case basis without having to get caught up in a debate about capital punishment. While at times the amount of information is simply overwhelming I must say that I am pretty impressed with this book which I think provides an interesting social commentary of America that makes you wonder just how advanced we really are.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye for an eye, February 28, 2008

By 

Millie Bennett (Mobile) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006 (Hardcover)

As a Baptist Minister I am happy to say that I have purchased this book for my personal library as this is a book that has most certainly affected my view of capital punishment. While there is no doubt in my mind that most if not all of the executed people discussed in this book are sinners and indeed guilty of the horrible crimes with which they have been charged and seemingly deserving of being locked up forever, I am now unsure how Americans, the most advanced society in the world, benefit from having our government execute people who are either clearly insane or so sick and tired of being incarcerated that they volunteer to be executed. What then is the point of another killing?

The authors of this book don't give any simple answers to this moral dilemma but they sure do a fine a job, perhaps almost too good a job, of making you think and ponder this question and cause you to reflect on another very difficult question: should the death penalty be abolished altogether?

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A serious book on a most serious issue, January 22, 2008

By 

Roosevelt (Elk City, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death Penalty USA: 2005 - 2006 (Hardcover)

I am pleased to have purchased this book which according to the publisher is the first in a series of books detailing the case histories of all convicted inmates executed in the 21st century by the people of the United States. I note that each case history juxtaposes details of the capital crime with the capital punishment and always includes hard to find information regarding the disposition of co-defendants. I know of no other source that provides such a wealth of information.

Finding the book to be well written and easy to read I commend the authors for including case citations to both published and unpublished court opinions something that is not easily accessible to the lay person and very often difficult or unduly costly to those of us fortunate enough to have access to legal search engines like Lexis and Westlaw. In my opinion this book is one of very few criminology books that will appeal to both the scholar and the lay person. I especially enjoy the fact that the authors have been careful not to interpose their opinions in a subject that is certain to generate a strong emotional response in the reader. Obviously I look forward to the next addition in this series.