Capital punishment : an encyclopedia of history, politics, culture, and the law / editor, Joseph A. Melusky.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Melusky, Joseph A., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Capital punishment--United States.

Capital punishment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (401 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (US), 2024.

Place of Publication:

London : Bloomsbury Academic, 2024.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

This authoritative, balanced, and accessible reference resource provides readers with a wide-ranging survey of capital punishment in America, including its history, its legal and cultural foundations, and racial and economic factors in its application. This carefully crafted primer on the history and present state of capital punishment in the United States examines cultural, political, and legal factors and developments, as well as key figures, groups, and movements, by consolidating a wide variety of material into a single, convenient source. Utilizing a rich and varied array of scholarship and primary sources, this work examines historical, political, cultural, and legal factors and developments that have shaped the contours of capital punishment throughout American history. It examines key figures and organizations who have played pivotal roles in debates over the death penalty; provides readers with illuminating coverage of laws, cases, and the people involved; discusses the experiences of death row inmates; and explores questions and controversies revolving around the socioeconomic factors that influence the use of capital punishment.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Alphabetical List of Entries

Topical List of Entries

Preface

Acknowledgments

PART I: History and Politics

1 A Brief History of Capital Punishment

The Constitution and the Death Penalty

The Death Penalty in Pre-Colonial Times

The Death Penalty in America: Colonial Roots

Statistics and Facts about the Death Penalty

2 The Politics of Capital Punishment

Arguments against the Death Penalty

Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty

Old (and Gruesome) Methods of Execution

Contemporary Methods of Execution

Botched Executions

Post-Furman Presidents and the Death Penalty

PART II: A-Z Entries

PART III: Primary Source Documents

Code of Hammurabi (c. 1780 bce)

The Bible, Book of Exodus (c. 1300 bce)

The Twelve Tables of the Roman Republic (c. 450 bce)

The Magna Carta (June 15, 1215)

The English Bill of Rights (1689)

The American Declaration of Independence (1776)

Ordinance of the Northwest Territory (1787)

Amendments to the United States Constitution (1791, 1868)

United Nations Resolution on the Use of the Death Penalty (December 17, 2019)

Chronology

Glossary

Bibliography

About the Editor and Contributors

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798216170617

9798216170600

9781440877087

1440877084

OCLC:

1458760073