The Death Penalty: Issues and Answers

Is the death penalty a deterrent? Is it applied disproportionately to certain ethnic groups? How harsh is life on death row? In this expanded new edition the author examines these and other controversial issues, draws conclusions from the current research, and discusses their implication for social policy. Topics such as capital punishment policies around the world, executions in the United States, public opinion on the death penalty, juries and the death penalty, and economic analyses of the deterrent factor all receive comprehensive coverage. Appendices round out this newly revised and updated text with studies on public attitudes toward rape and capital punishment, and the deterrent effect of executions on the homicide rate in the United States.