Product Description

In The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies, Hugo Adam Bedau, one of our preeminent scholars on the subject, provides a comprehensive sourcebook on the death penalty, making the process of informed consideration not only possible but fascinating as well. No mere revision of the third edition of The Death Penalty in America--which the New York Times praised as "the most complete, well-edited and comprehensive collection of readings on the pros and cons of the death penalty"--this volume brings together an entirely new selection of 40 essays and includes updated statistical and research data, recent Supreme Court decisions, and the best current contributions to the debate over capital punishment. From the status of the death penalty worldwide to current attitudes of Americans toward convicted killers, from legal arguments challenging the constitutionality of the death penalty to moral arguments enlisting the New Testament in support of it, from controversies over the role of race and class in the judicial system to proposals to televise executions, Bedau gathers readings that explore all the most compelling aspects of this most compelling issue.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #156023 in Books
• Published on: 1998-04-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.69 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

From Amazon.com
Death penalty abolitionists will find much to like about The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies. Editor Hugo Adam Bedau makes his bias plain in the preface: "I ... am opposed to the death penalty in all its forms, no matter how awful the crime or how savage the criminal." Other than a token mid-1980s essay from Ernest van den Haag, then, the thrust of this collection is decidedly anti-death penalty. As such, it is a useful compendium of the abolitionist viewpoint, and its extensive bibliography will serve anyone as a starting point for research on the subject. The book also contains excerpts from important Supreme Court opinions and laws on the subject. Those of a quantitative bent will be frustrated by the argumentation and the short shrift it gives to the work of Isaac Ehrlich, who demonstrated the deterrent value of the death penalty. But those interested in an exhaustive survey of the arguments against all components of the death penalty will find this a must-have volume. --Ted Frank

From Library Journal
In this follow-up to the third edition of his seminal The Death Penalty in America (Oxford Univ., 1992), Bedau presents an updated sourcebook of essays, studies, and legal decisions on the death penalty that includes recent Supreme Court decisions and recent contributions to the debate. This comprehensive book contains a wealth of information for the scholar or serious student, but general audiences will find it difficult to follow despite the author's chapter introductions. The essential points are that the death penalty does not deter criminals, is not cost-effective, and is imposed in a discriminatory fashion. The information is impressive and weighs heavily in favor of abolishing the death penalty because Bedau could not find research in favor of it and believes that the penalty is improper. For specialized collections.?Harry Charles, St. Louis
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA. This third edition contains 40 new essays and statistics updated to cover the years 1972-1994. It includes a history of the death penalty, a discussion of its constitutionality, the question of racial and class disparities in death-penalty sentencing, and a discussion of it as a deterrence factor. The essays are not of overwhelming length or legal content. The statistical data is impressive; there are at least 40 tables with topics ranging from proposed state legislation over the past 25 years, to murders by type of weapon used, to length of time spent on death row by state. An extensive bibliography and an index that lists case names are helpful. The value of the factual information and the presentation of divergent opinions make this book an asset for assignments.?Clodagh Lee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.