Race, Class, and the Death Penalty: Capital Punishment in American History [Hardcover]

Howard W. Allen (Author), Jerome M. Clubb (Author), Vincent A. Lacey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0791474372 | ISBN-13: 978-0791474372 | Publication Date: May 2008

Examines both the legal and illegal uses of the death penalty in American history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

In Race, Class, and the Death Penalty, Howard W. Allen and Jerome M. Clubb examine historical trends in the use of capital punishment in the United States. Employing empirical data, the authors explore how frequently the death penalty has been used and how its frequency of use has changed, where the death penalty was used most often, the offenses charged, and the characteristics of the executed. Not surprisingly, their findings indicate that minority groups--particularly African Americans and those of lower social and economic status in general--have been executed in disproportionate numbers. The authors conclude that while the use of the death penalty has progressively declined, and the range of capital offenses has narrowed, disparities in the use of capital punishment between social groups and regions that appeared in the colonial period have persisted into the twenty-first century.

"The long-standing practice of capital punishment in this country has been controversial almost from its inception, and the controversy has been particularly intense in recent decades. A careful analysis of the empirical facts of our historical practices is tremendously important, and the authors do a great service in collecting and assimilating many partial sources into what looks to be one of the most comprehensive and definitive treatments of empirical information on the use of capital punishment in the United States throughout its history." -- Carol S. Steiker, coauthor of Criminal Law and Its Processes: Cases and Materials, Eighth Edition

About the Author

Howard W. Allen is Professor of History Emeritus at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Jerome M. Clubb is Research Scientist and Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Michigan. Both Allen and Clubb have written several books, including their coedited volume Electoral Change and Stability in American Political History.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 239 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (May 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791474372
• ISBN-13: 978-0791474372
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,033,879 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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