American Corrections: Concepts and Controversies
Second Edition
Learning Objectives
- To understand the basic controversies related to the death penalty.
- To grasp the decline in the use of the death penalty compared to the death row population.
- To be able to argue either side of the debate about the death penalty as a deterrent and as just deserts.
- To grasp the issue of racial disparity and capital punishment.
- To be able to describe the significance of at least three of the most important legal challenges to the death penalty that have come through the U.S. Supreme Court.
- To be able to name the states that use the death penalty the most and at least two states that have rejected it most recently.
- To learn about the comparative costs of death row.
- To gain insight into the dilemma surrounding methods of execution.