The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment, Judging Death

This volume explores how Supreme Court rulings over history have shaped and reshaped the rules under which Americans have been tried, convicted, sentenced and put to death for capital offenses.Through judicial decisions and other primary documents, this reference examines the impact of these rulings upon the behavior of legislators, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and defendants. Considerable emphasis is placed upon the twentieth century, especially the period since the 1972 Furman v. Georgia case. Since Furman, few areas of constitutional doctrine have undergone more abrupt changes than Court-mandated standards for administering capital punishment. Topics covered include the debate over the execution of juveniles, the mentally retarded, and the insane; race and capital punishment; judicial philosophies on the death penalty; Constitutionality of methods of execution; and changing public opinion and its impact on capital punishment.