Learning Objectives

  • Explain the impact of public opinion on the retention or abolition of the death penalty
  • Know the trends in the administration of the death penalty
  • Identify the major Supreme Court death penalty cases
  • Discuss the financial cost/benefit ratio of the death penalty
  • Explain the difficulty in determining whether the death penalty is a deterrent
  • Analyze the nuances relating to racial disparity and the death penalty
  • Describe the innocence revolution and what it means
  • Understand the issues surrounding the use of genetic and neuroimaging technology for determining exoneration and mitigation