Justice in the Shadow of Death [Paperback]

Michael Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996 | ISBN-10: 0847682706 | ISBN-13: 978-0847682706

In 1994, Congress established more than sixty new capital crimes with wide public support. Davis argues that, if the U.S. is ever to join the majority of the world in abolishing capital punishment, opponents of the death penalty must make a stronger philosophical case against it. He systematically dissects the arguments in favor of capital punishment and demonstrates why they are philosophically superior to opposing arguments. By connecting the death penalty to a general theory of punishment in which penalties are retributive in proportion to the crime, Davis shows why we must reconceive the entire criminal justice system and address violent crime more successfully before the death penalty can be successfully opposed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

An interesting, original and provocative book. Davis has illuminating things to say about issues that other philosophers rarely touch, such as, whether it is appropriate for doctors to participate in executions, and what punishment the crime of rape deserves. (Jeffery Reiman )

Davis's book is the latest challenge to complacent thinking by those who oppose the death penalty. Whether or not one agrees with him, grappling with his arguments can only improve the level of debate on this controversial issue. His book is an example of applied philosophy at its best. (Hugo Adams Bedau )

This work is important...for its careful discussions of the death penalty, preventive detention, and the method of determining appropriate legal penalties, with case studies in rape and bad samaritanism... It will surely be referred to widely, among scholars, and made use of by scholars and students. (Potter, Nelson )

About the Author

Michael Davis is Senior Research Associate at the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at Illinois Institute of Technology. He is the author of To Make the Punishment Fit the Crime.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847682706
• ISBN-13: 978-0847682706
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,113,380 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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