Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Case [Paperback]

Hugo Adam Bedau (Editor), Paul G. Cassell (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0195179803 | ISBN-13: 978-0195179804

When news breaks that a convicted murderer, released from prison, has killed again, or that an innocent person has escaped the death chamber in light of new DNA evidence, arguments about capital punishment inevitably heat up. Few controversies continue to stir as much emotion as this one, and public confusion is often the result.
This volume brings together seven experts--judges, lawyers, prosecutors, and philosophers--to debate the death penalty in a spirit of open inquiry and civil discussion. Here, as the contributors present their reasons for or against capital punishment, the multiple facets of the issue are revealed in clear and thought-provoking detail. Is the death penalty a viable deterrent to future crimes? Does the imposition of lesser penalties, such as life imprisonment, truly serve justice in cases of the worst offences? Does the legal system discriminate against poor or minority defendants? Is the possibility of executing innocent persons sufficient grounds for abolition?
In confronting such questions and making their arguments, the contributors marshal an impressive array of evidence, both statistical and from their own experiences working on death penalty cases. The book also includes the text of Governor George Ryan's March 2002 speech in which he explained why he had commuted the sentences of all prisoners on Illinois's death row.
By representing the viewpoints of experts who face the vexing questions about capital punishment on a daily basis, Debating the Death Penalty makes a vital contribution to a more nuanced understanding of the moral and legal problems underlying this controversy.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From the commuting of death sentences to life imprisonment and the pardoning of four death-row prisoners last year by then Illinois governor George Ryan, the death penalty has now come front and center in American consciousness. This collection of essays presents a balanced discussion of the range of issues associated with this debate, including the speech delivered by Ryan when he made his historic decision. The essayists include federal judges, lawyers, and philosophers. Four of the essays argue for the death penalty and four against. Contributors examine the key areas concerning the death penalty: race and economics, the U.S. position on capital punishment in contrast to that of other nations, retribution and morality, the risks of wrongful convictions, the deterrence value of capital punishment, and closure for victims' families. Contributors emphasize their own particular points of view but add to an excellent overview of this life-and-death issue. Vernon Ford
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"From the commuting of death sentences to life imprisonment and the pardoning of four death-row prisoners last year by former Illinois governor George Ryan, the death penalty has now come front and center in American consciousness. This collection of essays presents a balanced discussion of the range of issues associated with this debate, including the speech delivered by Ryan when he made his historic decision. The essayists include federal judges, lawyers, and philosophers. Four of the essays argue for the death penalty and four against. Contributors examine the key areas concerning the death penalty: race and economics, the U.S. position on capital punishment in contrast to that of other nations, retribution and morality, the risks of wrongful convictions, the deterrence value of capital punishment, and closure for victims families. Contributors emphasize their own particular points of view but add to an excellent overview of this life-and-death issue." --Booklist

"The controversies over capital punishment in the United States grow more heated each year, but there is very little discourse by public intellectuals on the meaning and legitimacy of death as a criminal punishment. This collection is an important attempt to fill that gap, to map out the key questions in contention and the evidence available to answer them. It is a civilized and serious examination of a profoundly important fault line in the American legal system." --Franklin E. Zimring, William G. Simon Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, and author of The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment

"At long last, an intelligent, well-reasoned debate and a much needed balanced discussion of this most serious and vexing issue in our system of criminal justice. Some of the most prominent and outspoken supporters and opponents of capital punishment get to have their say in a thoughtful and reasoned discourse. At least, in this publication, supporters of capital punishment are given equal and appropriate treatment of their views on a subject most often swept under the rug or obscured by emotionalism."--Lynne Abraham, District Attorney of Philadelphia

"Brings fresh energy to an ongoing national conversation. It brings together some of the best thinkers and gets the best out of them. It contains up-to-date commentaries, all of which are lucid, engaging, and provocative. This book will be a singular resource for students of capital punishment for years to come."--Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

"It is not often that subtlety enters the death penalty debate in America. But Debating the Death Penalty achieves just that by bringing together the views of eight men who have very different ways of thinking about the subject. The book's most unique contribution is the way it reveals the humanity and good faith of those who support the ultimate penalty; as they struggle with the gravity of their own conclusions, they remind us that our compassion and our duties as a civil society must flow toward the victim of crime as well as the accused."--Carla Main, Opinion Page Editor of The National Law Journal

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 24, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195179803
• ISBN-13: 978-0195179804
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #347,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Balanced, November 5, 2006

By 

A. Harris - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case (Hardcover)

If you are looking for balanced arguments for and against the death penalty, this is probably one of the best sources currently available. The book alternates between retentionist and abolitionist papers (those for and those against capital punishment). I have personally found it very hard to find any academic arguments in favour of capital punishment and perhaps the most academic one I have found is in this book - Louis Pojman, who was also the editor of a book on moral philosophy that was used in my philosophy studies in university.

This book is mostly focussed on the death penalty as it is experienced in the United States and features some of the most well known figures in the US on this issue (including former Illinois Governor George Ryan).

Being most familiar with the abolitionist arguments, I would say that this volume is not completely comprehensive, but it is worthy and I get the feeling that this is not aimed at showing all arguments - just the primary arguments of those speaking - and it does that excellently. It is an excellent book too if you are having trouble understanding 'the other side' in this issue and well worth the read.

On a side note, if you are interested in understanding the legal and international perspective of the death penalty I recommend Professor Roger Hood's _The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective_ - the best comprehensive study on the subject I have ever found.

13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death Penalty Opinions, November 18, 2004

By 

David "Stephen Taylor Snyder" (WINNETKA, IL, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Best Case (Hardcover)

I believe that the opinions in this book are very enlightening. The co. authors explain their opinions very well and present their views cogently. Paul Cassell's chapter in this book was very convincing and it is very clear to note that he is oneof the leading experts in this field. I highly recomond this book to anybody who is interested in learning about the Death Penalty.

Stephen Taylor Snyder

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Balanced, July 29, 2009

By 

Kristina Kent (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? The Experts on Both Sides Make Their Case (Paperback)

Before reading this book, I was under the impression that the capital punishment debate had only two points of view. Either you are for the death penalty, or you are against it. I was mistaken. There are seven contributing authors to this work, and each has a distinctly different point of view on the capital punishment debate. These points of view range from total abolitionist (believes the death penalty is morally wrong no matter the crime) to the staunch belief that we do not use the death penalty enough nor with enough regularity for it to be effective (believes we should kill more murderers faster). The issues addressed include deterrence, arbitrariness, racism, DNA evidence, and the many imperfections in the process of sending a killer to his or her death.