The plausibility of the traditional argument christian brugger introduction the influence of aquinas on the traditional catholic philosophical defense of capital punishment is extraordinary. Ask at your school or local library if they have any of the books listed below. Your local public library will probably have the listed encyclopedias in its reference collection. The death penalty deters crime david muhlhausen the death penalty isnt the answer to crime woes jack weil the cost of the death penalty outweighs its benefits to society julie delcour the death penalty is essential, and its cost is irrelevant derek schmidt death penalty would end punishment of victims family irl stambaugh. Briefs, in addition to references from books, documents, pamphlets, and periodicals, will be. May 29, 2014 capital punishment provides the state the means to apply the appropriate punishment to the crime deut. Capital punishment, 19101925 a selected bibliography jstor. His most recent book is our divided political heart. For and against capital punishment philosophy essay. What does the bible say about capital punishment and the.
History capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times. Capital punishment, execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by a court of law of a criminal offense. It would take an informed and determined electorate, and that appears to be nowhere in sight. Capital punishment is the lawful infliction of death as a punishment and since ancient times it has been used for a wide variety of offences. The best books on capital punishment recommended by clive stafford smith. However, christians are no longer bound by the legal code of old testament law. In keeping with the publishers contemporary world issues format, this handbook opens with an overviewpractical, moral, and politicalof capital punishment in the 1990s. Often the debates over these justifications become as heated as the debates over the death penalty itself. Reference of deterrent theory in capital punishment. Christians on both sides of the issue of capital punishment often appeal to scripture in order to support their stance. The only problem with the book is that its prose is ponderous. A variety of justifications for and against capital punishment has been advanced. Tim junkin, who wrote a book about the case, described bloodsworths good fortune.
Sister helen prejean, the acclaimed author of dead man walking, has written a new spiritual memoir, river of fire. Urbina, in push to end death penalty, some states cite costcutting, n. The battle for the american idea in an age of discontent bloomsbury press. Arguments for and against capital punishment christians, and our churches, are divided on the issue of whether capital punishment is right or wrong. Americas death penalty in an age of abolition 2010. Capital punishment internet encyclopedia of philosophy. Support for capital punishment is waning in the usa, where concern is mounting as evidence ofconviction of the innocent grows, and where there have been renewed challenges to the constitutionality of the death penalty. Why does capital punishment become more problematic each year. Mar 07, 2015 capital punishment should not end updated four prominent catholic publications from across the theological spectrum america magazine, the national catholic register, the national catholic reporter and our sunday visitor this week issued a joint statement declaring that capital punishment must end. As such, its use in curriculum would require more support from teachers. Apart from the relative concern on the general publics safety and the relative significance of capital punishment to such, the author also explored the effects of capital punishment to the safety of the law enforcers and found.
Most popular capital punishment movies and tv shows imdb. Cruel and unusual takes the reader back in time to show how the indiscriminate use of executions gave way to a more enlightened approach, one that has been. Reflections on capital punishment northwestern pritzker school of. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. A new interest in capital punishment has been aroused recently by pro inent murder cases. The practice of punishment must be justified by reference either to forwardlooking or to backwardlooking considerations. Few experts believe that the threat of capital punishment is an effective deterrent. The lawyer, whos defended many clients on death row, tells us why the legal system in capital cases is set up to fail, and says all of us should know more about what happens in an execution. Capital punishment should not end updated four prominent catholic publications from across the theological spectrum america magazine, the national catholic register, the national catholic reporter and our sunday visitor this week issued a joint statement declaring that capital punishment must end.
It is also the first book by robert wilson which i read. From the fall of rome to the beginnings of the modern era, capital punishment was practiced throughout western europe. The best books on capital punishment five books expert. Lifton and mitchell, longtime opponents of capital punishment, trace the history of the issue back to the greeksainexplicably ignoring the penaltys biblical roots. The law, criminal law, capital punishment, death penalty. A novelist aided by his future fatherinlaw conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment. Dana andrews, joan fontaine, sidney blackmer, arthur franz. Abramoff offers solutions at the end of the book, but it seems those have gone nowhere since the book was published four years ago. This is a wikipedia book, a collection of wikipedia articles that can be easily saved, imported by an external electronic rendering service, and ordered as a printed book.
Despite the many advances towards worldwide abolition, this book reveals many human rights abuses where the death penalty still. In this timely book, robert jay lifton and greg mitchell investigate the. The two main arguments for the death penalty are deterrence and retribution. I use capital punishment as a frame of reference and as a window into how the human spirit responds to extreme circumstances. List of books and articles about capital punishment online. One common source of disagreement between those supporting and those opposing the death penalty is whether the death penalty really acts as a deterrent to crime.
The book shows how capital punishment has been ineffective and thus implicitly argues for its elimination. The bulk of the book, however, delves into capital punishment today. Capital punishment questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on capital punishment. Trying to end capital punishment statebystate was difficult at best, so death penalty abolitionists turned much of their efforts to the courts. Capital punishment and the biblecapital punishment and the biblebyhanksgardner c. The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by execution. On the books in most states, the death penalty has been challenged by many, originally on grounds that it violated the constitutional prohibition against. One can sense a continuing wrestling with the issue over a lengthy period of time.
Capital punishment and lethal assaults against police. To this end, the institute presents material which we believe will encourage informed debate on an issue which has too often been discussed in a highly emotive manner. Jan 01, 2011 capital punishment is the first book about the kidnap recovery specialist charles boxer. The bible prescribes death for murder and many other crimes including kidnapping and witchcraft. The reference material is for personal use of the members in the discharge of. In 2007 the general assembly adopted a resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty a62149. I am doing my phd thesis on the death penalty and am using this as one of my references. Capital punishment is the first book about the kidnap recovery specialist charles boxer. Capital punishment, execution publicity and murder in houston, texas 2004 the journal of criminal law and criminology 1973 intext. The governors council on capital punishment has made 10 major recommendations to create what it hopes will be a failsafe death penalty in massachusetts. You can order it from hugo a bedau, editor, the death penalty in america. Capital punishment provides the state the means to apply the appropriate punishment to the crime deut. If the former prevail, then the theory is likely to be consequentialist and probably some version of utilitarianism, according to which the point of the practice of punishment is to increase overall net social welfare by.
What interests me is not the moral issue of the death penalty, but the world of capital punishment as it exists as a legal system. Links to web sites and books dealing with capital punishment. This continuing public discussion on capital punishment should occur in the context of the facts concerning the use of the death penalty in australia and in overseas countries. Moser the author boldly confronts the controversial issue of capital punishment, not with words of mans wisdom, but with gods word. The term death penalty is sometimes used interchangeably with capital punishment, though imposition of the penalty is not always followed by. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is an institutionalized practice designed to result in deliberately executing persons in response to actual or supposed misconduct and following an authorized, rulegoverned process to conclude that the person is responsible for violating norms that warrant execution. Instead it shows the founders conflicting and ambivalent views on capital punishment. Capital punishment, the american conscience, and the end of the death.
The introduction to the book is written by the late senator john l. Its institution predates israels birth as a nation and moses divinely inspired directions for the nations governance, eliminating the. God instituted capital punishment as a legitimate punitive option for every state. But to justify capital punishment, the retribution must be meted out fairly, and that is clearly not the case. This book explodes this myth that americas founders were ardent advocates of capital punishment. Retribution just deserts deterrence incapacitation, cost, and consideration for victims capital punishment for murder. Starship troopers is a military science fiction novel by american writer robert a.
May 03, 2004 the governors council on capital punishment has made 10 major recommendations to create what it hopes will be a failsafe death penalty in massachusetts. You can come to your own assessment at the end of my book about whether you. Readings history of the death penalty the execution. Capital punishment, the american conscience, and the end of executions. Similarly, trinidad and tobago, in withdrawing from the human rights convention of the organization for american states and preparing to resume. Youve spent 28 years representing defendants in us death penalty cases and. One senses in this book that for the author this has been a very personal quest for wisdom regarding the matter of capital punishment.
329 1221 1020 786 1127 322 1253 207 993 697 1073 498 13 590 1150 808 926 279 1289 914 720 552 1011 604 877 1330 381 573 416 1090 897 255 920 576 755 1116 1421 1303 285