Chapter 11

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Rainville, G. (2001). An analysis of factors related to prosecutor sentencing preferences. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 12(4), 295-310.

1. What are the three variables identified as related to prosecutor decision making in the screening and settlement stages of criminal case-processing? Explain each.
2. What type of analysis is used in this study?
3. What was found to determine the level of sentence restrictiveness that prosecutors desire?

Denver, M., Best, J., & Haas, K. C. (2008). Methods of execution as institutional fads. Punishment & Society, 10(3), 227-252.

1. What do the authors mean when they state that “the history of capital punishment in the USA reveals a cyclical pattern”?
2. What is an institutional fad and how does it relate to methods of execution?
3. What are the four methods of execution discussed and why did many states abandon all but one method?

Zalman, M., Larson, M. J., & Smith, B. (2012). Citizens' attitudes toward wrongful convictions. Criminal Justice Review, 37(1), 51-69.

1. What data is used by the authors in this analysis?
2. What gap in the literature are the authors referring to concerning wrongful convictions?
3. What are the policy implications for the findings of this study?