Learning Objectives

  • Describe the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty.
  • Explain the trends in the administration of the death penalty.
  • Identify the issues in major Supreme Court death penalty cases.
  • Analyze and discuss the financial cost–benefit ratio of the death penalty.
  • Evaluate the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent.
  • Articulate the arguments relating to racial disparity and the death penalty.
  • Identify the differences in sentencing between men and women when it comes to the death penalty.
  • Discuss some of the issues around mental illness and mental disability and the death penalty.
  • Explain the meaning of the innocence revolution and the issues surrounding the use of genetic and neuroimaging technology for determining exoneration and mitigation.