Seattle University A.A. Lemieux Library Academic Day 2002   Dead Man Walking

Pro & Con Views of the Death Penalty

	> death penalty analysis
	> pro death penalty
	> con death penalty
	> framing the debate
	> associations
	> viewing executions
	> tip of the iceberg

What are we talking about when we talk about capital punishment?

"In Furman, Justice Thurgood Marshall argued that 'informed public opinion' about the death penalty was, in fact, anything but informed." pg. 117, Dead Man Walking

websites

• Focus on the Death Penalty, The Debate: University of Alaska at Anchorage. Justice Center Web Site. Comprehensive site with links to religious opinions, views of law enforcement officers as well as positions on costs and other specific issues.
• Angel on Death Row; The Death Penalty: Pro and Con
• Justice Center Website: Focus on Death Row: University of Alaska, Anchorage. This very complete site contains state-by-state links to death rows.
• Death Penalty Information: Up-to-date death penalty headlines and articles from the world press.
• High School Curriculum on the Death Penalty: Michigan State University
• Cornell Death Penalty Project: Cornell Law School
• Washington State Department of Corrections Death Penalty FAQ

books and articles in Lemieux Library

• Banner, Stuart
  The Death Penalty: An American History
  Harvard University Press, 2002.
  HV8699 .U5 B367 2002
• Johnson, Robert
  Death Work: A Study of the Modern Execution Process
  Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1998.
  HV8699 .U5 J643 1990
• Lester, David
  The Death Penalty: Issues and Answers
  Springfield, IL: C. C. Thomas, 1987.
  KF9227 .C2 L47 1987 (Seattle University Law Library)
• Marquart, James W.
  The Rope, the Chair, and the Needle: Capital Punishment in Texas, 1923-1990
  Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.
  HV8699 .U5 M35 1994
  HV8699 .U5 M35 1994 EBook
• Palmer, Louis J.
  Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States
  Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2001.
  REF HV8694 P35 2001
• Death Penalty Debate
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 5, Issue 9, pg. 193
  REF H35 E35 1995
• Death Penalty Update
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 9, Issue 1, pg. 3
  REF H35 E35 1999
• Despite Global Trend, U.S. Executions Continue
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 9, Issue 1, pg. 14
  REF H35 E35 1999
• Outlook
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 11, Issue 40, pg. 962
  REF H35 E35 2001
• Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 9, Issue 9, pg. 17
  REF H35 E35 1999
• Study Cites Flaws in Death Penalty System
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 11, Issue 40, pg. 950
  REF H35 E35 2001
• The Issues
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 11, Issue 40, pg. 947
  REF H35 E35 2001

Who argues for the death penalty?

"We know we have our work cut out for us, aware as we are that the vast majority of U.S. citizens say they favor capital punishment. A 1966 Gallup Poll showed 42 percent of the population in favor of the death penalty; a 1991 CNN/Gallup Poll showed support at 76 percent." pg. 116, Dead Man Walking

websites

Pro Death Penalty (Retentionist)

As several death penalty websites will point out, the relative minority of pro-death points of view on the Internet compared to abolitionist sites does not necessarily imply that there is less support for the death penalty among the general public.

• Message from the Prosecuting Attorney: Clark County Prosecuting Attorney. State of Indiana.
• Pro-death penalty.com: Pro-death penalty.com and its related organizations Justice for All and MurderVictims.com are all based in Houston, Texas and represent the survivors' points of view.
• Justice for All
• Citizens Against Homicide

books in Lemieux Library

• Cabana, Donald
  Death at Midnight: The Confession of an Executioner
  Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996.
  HV8694 .C225 1996
• Cook, Kimberly J.
  Divided Passions: Public Opinions on Abortion and the Death Penalty
  Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1998.
  HQ767.5 .U5 C666 1998
• Estrich, Susan
  Getting Away with Murder: How Politics Is Destroying the Criminal Justice System
  Harvard University Press, 1997.
  KF9223 .E85 1998
• Gabor, Thomas
  "Everybody Does It!": Crime by the Public
  Toronto; Buffalo, NY: University of Toronto Press, 1994.
  HV6080 .G32 1994

Who wants to abolish the death penalty?

websites

Anti Death Penalty (Abolitionist)

• American Society of Criminology
• Amnesty International Website Against the Death Penalty
• Amnesty International Death Penalty Quiz: Test your knowledge of the death penalty
• ACLU Death Penalty Campaign
• Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
• Derechos Human Rights Death Penalty Links: A California-based non-profit online organization
• Equal Justice Now: Maryland: Quixote Center
• The Moratorium Campaign: New Orleans, LA
• National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty: Washington, D.C.
• Southern Center for Human Rights: Atlanta, GA

books in Lemieux Library

• American College of Physicians
  Breach of Trust: Physician Participation in Executions in the United States
  Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; New York: Human Rights Watch;
  Washington, D.C.: National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty;
  Boston: Physicians for Human Rights, 1994.
  HV8699 .U5 B74 1994 (Seattle University Law Library)
• Harlow, Enid
  The Machinery of Death: A Shocking Indictment of Capital Punishment in the United States
  New York: Amnesty International USA, 1995.
  KF8699 .U5 M235 1995
• Mello, Michael
  Against the Death Penalty: The Relentless Dissents of Justices Brennan and Marshall
  Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1996.
  KF9227 .C2 M38 1996
• Mello, Michael
  Dead Wrong: A Death Row Lawyer Speaks Out Against Capital Punishment
  Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1999.
  KF9227 .C2 M383 1997
• Shapiro, Steven R.
  Human Rights Violations in the United States: A Report on U.S. Compliance with The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
  New York: Human Rights Watch: American Civil Liberties Union, 1993.
  JC599 .U5 H76 1993
• Wachtel, Ted
  Real Justice
  Pipersville, PA: Piper's Press, 1997.
  HV6250.25 .W33 1997

How do we frame the debate over capital punishment? What are the political, legal, social, professional, historical, ethical and moral perspectives we might consider?

website

• "Class, Race and Gender in Criminology and Criminal Justice: Ways of Seeing Difference" by Greg Barak: A good introduction to the various studies on crime and the effects of class, race and gender. Eastern Michigan University: ACS Race, Gender and Class Project Symposium, 2000.

books and articles in Lemieux Library

• Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E. Rosenbaum
  Punishment and the Death Penalty: The Current Debate
  Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 1995.
  HV8694 .P86 1995 (Seattle University Law Library)
• Bessler, John D.
  Death in the Dark: Midnight Executions in America
  Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1997.
  HV8699 .U5 B47 1997
• Braswell, Michael
  Human Relations and Corrections
  Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press, 1990.
  HV9469 .B72 1990
• Galliher, John F.
  America Without the Dealth Penalty: States Leading the Way
  Boston : Northeastern University Press, c2002.
  HB8699 .U5 2002
  
• Gilligan, James
  Violence: Reflections on a National Epidemic
  New York: Vintage, 1997.
  HM281 .G45 1997
• Herman, Peter G.
  The American Prison System
  New York: H.W. Wilson, 2001.
  HV9471 .A46 2001
• Lifton, Robert Jay
  Who Owns Death?: Capital Punishment, the American Conscience, and the End of Executions
  New York: Morrow, 2000.
  HV8699 .U5 L54 2000
• Parenti, Christian
  Lockdown America: Police and Prisons in the Age of Crisis
  London: New York: Verso, 1999.
  HV9471 .P33 1999
• Randa, Laura E.
  Society's Final Solution: A History and Discussion of the Death Penalty
  Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1997.
  KF9227 .C2 S67 1997
• Sarat, Austin
  The Killing State: Capital Punishment in Law, Politics and Culture
  New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
  KF9227 .C2 K56 1999
• Taylor, Mark Lewis
  The Executed God: The Way of the Cross in Lockdown America
  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001.
  HV8687 .T38 2001

videos in Lemieux Library

• Sentenced to Die
  Examines the pros and cons of capital punishment by focusing on two cases, that of Dawn Romano Garvin, whose murderer, Steve Oken, was sentenced to death, but remains on death row in a lengthy appeal process, and that of Clarence Lee Brandley, who was mistakenly sentenced to death row and only won his freedom after a ten-year battle.
  Alexandria, Va.: Close Up Foundation, c2001.
  KF9227 .C2 S45 2001
• A View of a Kill: Witnessing an Execution
  Films for the Humanities, 1998.
  HV8699 .U5 V54 1998
• Crime and Punishment
  Koppel, Ted.
  HV8665 .C754 1998 V.1
• Judgment at Midnight
  Sawyer, Diane.
  Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities & Sciences, 1996.
  HV8699 .U5 J83 1996

What do professional associations think about the death penalty?

websites

• American Bar Association: Use the search feature on the Association's homepage to locate ABA recommendations and reports on the death penalty. Search under both death penalty and capital punishment.
• American Bar Association - Death without Justice: A guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty in the United States: American Bar Association. Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, June 2001. (PDF file requires Adobe Acrobat)
• American Civil Liberties Union - Death Penalty Campaign.
• American Medical Association - Policies on Capital Punishment: Use the search form on this page to retrieve AMA policies. Select all categories, enter capital punishment and search.
• American Psychological Association - "Resolution on the Death Penalty in the United States ": August 2001

Does execution viewing sway public opinion?

"What we do is fry the bastards on prime-time TV, that's what we oughta do.  Show them dying in the electric chair, say, at eight at night, and see if that doesn't give second thoughts to anybody thinking of murder."   pg. 235,  Dead Man Walking

websites

• The Execution Tapes: via Sound Portraits.org.  Recorded in Jackson, Georgia by the Georgia Department of Corrections.
• Televising Executions: Overview of the Arguments: Paul Leighton Ph.D.,  Dept of Sociology, Anthropology & Criminology at Eastern Michigan University.
• Viewing Death: Foes, Supporters of Executions Divided on Public Broadcasts: by Dean Schabner at abcNEWS.com.
• Viewing Execution Helps One Family Ease Burden: by Lee Hill Kavanaugh - The Kansas City Star
• Without Sanctuary: Photographs and Postcards of Lynching in America: The companion Web site to the book Without Sanctuary, (2000) and museum exhibition of James Allen. Produced by Journal E.
• Witness to an Execution: from PBS News Hour. Discussion regarding the right of the Families of the victims in the Oklahoma City bombing  to watch the execution of Timothy McVeigh (4/12/2001).

books and articles in Lemieux Library

• Televised Executions? Stay Tuned
  CQ Researcher
  Volume 5, Issue 9, pg. 210
  REF H35 E35 1995

tip of the iceberg...

Dig deeper into these topics by exploring additional resources available both in the library and through the Library Homepage. Additional books & videos can be located through the "Library Catalog" link. Articles (including full-text) can be located in many general and specialized journal databases through the "Databases" link. Reference staff is also available to assist you in finding materials.

© 2002 Lemieux Library