Dismantling the Death Penalty

Research-Based Answers to the Essential Questions

Mark Costanzo (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

200 Seiten

2025
Oxford University Press Inc (Verlag)
978-0-19-751555-6 (ISBN)

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Dismantling the Death Penalty is a succinct, accessible, and lively overview of research on the costs and consequences of capital punishment. Professor Costanzo uses diverse sources of information--including closing arguments from murder trials; interviews with jurors; statistical analyses of murder rates; survey data; and quotes from defendants, politicians, and the families of victims--to understand the effects and effectiveness of the death penalty. Each chapter answers an essential question: How do juries decide who is sentenced to death? Do executions deter potential murderers? Does the public support the death penalty? Is it "cruel and unusual"? Is it cheaper than life imprisonment? How serious are errors and biases in the system? Is the death penalty morally justified? Although the emphasis is on social scientific research, this comprehensive analysis also places the practice of killing murderers in historical, political, and moral context. The opening chapter chronicles the long, bloody history of executions and changes in how, when, and why we kill criminals. The closing chapter evaluates the politics and future of capital punishment, as well as alternatives to execution.

Mark Costanzo, Ph.D. is Professor of Psychological Science at Claremont McKenna College, Co-Director of the Center for Applied Psychological Research, and a member of the Plenary Faculty at Claremont Graduate University. He has published research on a variety of law-related topics including police interrogations, false confessions, jury decision-making, sexual harassment, attorney argumentation, alternative dispute resolution, and the death penalty. Professor Costanzo is co-author of the leading textbook on Psychology and Law - Forensic and Legal Psychology (4th edition). He is also author of the books Psychology Applied to Law and Just Revenge. He is co-editor of several books, including Violence and the Law and Expert Psychological Testimony for the Courts. Professor Costanzo has also served as a consultant or expert witness for more than 400 criminal cases involving coerced and potentially false confessions. This consulting includes cases in state, federal, and military courts. Professor Costanzo has received Outstanding Teaching and Mentoring Awards from the American Psychology-Law Society, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the Western Psychological Association, and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology. He is currently serving as President of the Western Psychological Association.

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Death Penalty from Ancient to Modern Times: A Brief History
Executions in the United States
The Abolition Movement
Justifications for Killing Criminals
Five Historical Trends

Chapter 2: How do we Decide Who is Sentenced to Death?
Two Supreme Court Decisions
The Bifurcated Capital Murder Trial
The impact of "Death Qualification" on Capital Juries
Victim Impact Testimony in the Penalty Phase
The Role of the Defense and the Prosecution in the Penalty Phase
Jurors in Capital Murder Trials
The Misconceptions of Supreme Court Justices and Capital Jurors
The Appeals Process

Chapter 3: Does the Death Penalty Deter Potential Murderers?
The Research Evidence
Brutalization: Does the Death Penalty Incite Murder?
The Final Wave of Deterrence Research?
The Flawed Theory Underlying a Belief in Deterrence

Chapter 4: Does the American Public Support the Death Penalty?
What the Surveys Tell Us
The Dynamics of Public Opinion
What Drives Public Support?
The Shallowness of Support: Types of Murderers and Punishments
LWOP+R

Chapter 5: Is the Death Penalty Cruel and Unusual?
Ropes, Bullets, Electricity, Gas, and Poison
Between Sentencing and Execution: Life on Death Row
Waiting for the Executioner
The Execution Ritual
Cruelty from a Safe Distance

Chapter 6: Is the Death Penalty Cheaper than Life Imprisonment?
The Price Tag
Why the Death Penalty Is So Costly
Streamlining the System to Cut Costs

Chapter 7: Are there Errors and Biases in the Application of the Death Penalty?
The Geography of Death
All the Justice Money Can Buy
Justice in Black and White
The Supreme Court's View of Race
Why Death Is Different

Chapter 8: Is Killing Murderers Morally Justified?
The Bible Tells Me So
Moral Philosophy and the Functions of Punishment
Moral Responsibility and Free Will
Just Revenge?
What About the Victims?
The Families of the Murderers
The Famous Few

Chapter 9: The Slow Death of Capital Punishment in the United States
Other Western Democracies
The Fading Political Power of the Death Penalty
The Role of the Media
The Alternative to Killing
Toward Abolition
The Message We Send
In Conclusion

References
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	22.11.2023
Verlagsort	New York
Sprache	englisch
Maße	156 x 236 mm
Gewicht	299 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie
	Recht / Steuern ► EU / Internationales Recht
	Recht / Steuern ► Strafrecht ► Kriminologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
ISBN-10	0-19-751555-X / 019751555X
ISBN-13	978-0-19-751555-6 / 9780197515556
Zustand	Neuware