Death Penalty in the United States - Assignment Example

Alez, G. (2012). Capital Punishment in the United States: An Overview, History, Crimes Subject to Capital Punishment, and the Legal Process. New York: Webster's Digital Services. In this scholarly work, Alez, who is an expert in legal and criminological matters, conducts a critical analysis of capital punishment in America. Alez discusses the history of capital punishment in America, the crimes liable to the death penalty, and the legal procedures involved in capital punishment. The author continues by citing various precedents involving capital punishment and how they have shaped its current status. Bessler, J. (2012). Cruel & unusual: the American death penalty and the founders' Eighth Amendment (Illustrated, Reprint Ed.). Boston: Northeastern University Press. Bessler, one of the foremost authorities on international law and human rights, examines the death penalty in the United States vis-à-vis the Eighth Amendment. Bessler argues, throughout the book, that the American death penalty is not only cruel but also unusual. Bessler claims that the United States’ persistence with the death penalty is simply an escapist measure to avoid dealing with its socioeconomic problems. Boys, S. (2010). The Death Penalty: An Unusual Punishment America is Inflicting upon Itself. Critical Criminology, 19(2), 107-118. This article is one of the most intriguing and critical pieces on the American judicial system and death penalty. Boys, a recognized authority on criminology, contends that the death penalty is a retrogressive policy that the country would be better off without. Boys also compares America’s stand on the death penalty to other countries’ citing the fact that it is one of the few world powers that still practices this ‘draconian” policy that is a inhumane solution to managing crime. Brown, M. (2012). David Garland, Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition. Punishment & Society, 14(2), 262-264. Brown begins his article by stating that the United States is lagging behind most countries in the world when it comes to the death penalty. In an era in which most countries are abolishing the death penalty, America is still using capital punishment as an excuse for mitigating social and economic problems. Brown also states that the death penalty is a policy that the United States should leave in the age of the founding fathers. Deger, J. (2014). Death Penalty in GB and the USA. Munchen: GRIN Verlag. In this thought provoking book, Deger delivers a critical take on capital punishment in the United States and Great Britain. On America, Deger delves into the history and evolution of the death penalty to date, and its impact on American society. Deger argues that the death penalty is nothing more than a blatant disregard for human life that is perpetuated by a fear of change. Lyon, A. (2014). The Death Penalty: What's keeping it alive. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Lyon begins his book with a discussion of the history of capital punishment in the United States, and then delves into an examination of the reasons the death penalty is a constant in the judicial system of most US states. Lyon contends that religious and moral expectations and media coverage of the country’s criminal and justice aspects play a crucial role in the maintenance of the death penalty. However, the biggest factor is politics, since nobody wants to appear tolerant to crime. Capital punishment is a powerful political tool in America. Byars, G., Oakes, S., & Slaughter, P. (2013). Perspectives on capital punishment in America (C. MacLean, Ed.). Fort Wayne, IN: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Maclean and other contributors analyze the dynamics of capital punishment in the United States. They discuss the intricate details of the death penalty that are sometimes ignored. The scholars cover topics like the inappropriateness of applying capital punishment to felony murder, media influence on capital cases, the effects of death row acquittals and their influence on access to DNA testing after convictions, and the financial and social conservative perspective supporting the abolition of the death penalty. Martschukat, J. (2012). America's Death Penalty: Between Past and Present. Journal of American History, 99(1), 285-286. Martschukat, a respected scholar in the field of law and history, examines the past and present of the United States’ capital punishment. The author also compares the status of the death penalty at its introduction to its current outlook. Martschukat argues that despite criticism and calls for amendment, most US states have stuck with the death penalty because it is an easy and temporary solution to their political and socioeconomic challenges. Unnever, J., & Cullen, F. (2011). White Perceptions of Whether African Americans and Hispanics are Prone to Violence and Support for the Death Penalty. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 49(4), 519-544. In this well-researched article, Unnever and Cullen analyze how white Americans view African Americans’ and Hispanics’ propensity for violence and backing for the death penalty. The authors claim that despite all the sugarcoating and sideshows, race is an influential factor in the continued existence of the death penalty. African Americans and Hispanics seem to oppose it, while White Americans appear to support it, and this extends to the political arena. Walker, A. (2014). Book Review: Capital punishment in America: Race and the death penalty over time. Criminal Justice Review, 38(4), 535-536. Walker conducts a comprehensive review of the book Capital punishment in America: Race and the death penalty over time, which is one of the definitive works on the American justice system and the United States’ death penalty. Not only does Walker critique the book, but she also provides her own important perspectives on the subject of capital punishment in America. Zaroti, A. (2013). Death Penalty in the U.S.: A Discussion. Munich: GRIN Verlag GmbH. Zaroti adopts a critical stance on capital punishment in America. He accuses American politicians of promoting and protecting the death penalty in order to appease the public, rather than abide by current international human rights laws. Zaroti also argues that the racial and socioeconomic dynamics in the United States make it extremely difficult to completely abolish the death penalty. It would take a monumental shift for the US to abolish the death penalty, because it is too sensitive for anyone to confront it directly. Zivot, J. (2012). The absence of cruelty is not the presence of humanness: Physicians and the death penalty in the United States. Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 7(1), 13-13. In this article, Zivot examines one of the less researched aspects of capital punishment: physicians and their role in the practice of the death penalty. Zivot also argues that despite the US portraying itself as a protector of human rights and a promoter of democracy, it cannot escape the fact that capital punishment is an act of cruelty and inhumanity. It not only gives the government power over other people’s lives, but also violates the right to life. Read More