Capital Punishment - (Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America) by Joseph Melusky & Keith Pesto (Hardcover)

About the Book

This balanced approach to legal precedent and moral argument regarding the death penalty presents the evidence so readers can reach their own informed conclusions.
Capital Punishment examines the debate around the death penalty, raising questions and attempting to provide an even-handed examination of this controversial practice. The authors combine analysis of important issues with excerpts from landmark legal decisions, important documents, survey results, and empirical data.

The first part of the book discusses the origins of the death penalty and traces its development from antiquity to contemporary times. Detailed statistical information about capital punishment is presented and discussed, and the death penalty is considered against a constitutional backdrop with various arguments--for and against--articulated. The second part of the book consists of three appendices. The first appendix presents an annotated list of important capital-punishment cases; the second supplies a more general chronological treatment of capital punishment; and the third provides a bibliographic essay directing readers to other relevant sources of interest. A thorough and insightful treatment, Capital Punishment provides both a summary of the current state of capital punishment and a discussion of areas of continuing controversy.

• 15 black-and-white photos
• Excerpts from legal documents, court decisions, and statistical and survey data
• Timeline
• Bibliography

Book Synopsis

This balanced approach to legal precedent and moral argument regarding the death penalty presents the evidence so readers can reach their own informed conclusions.

Capital Punishment examines the debate around the death penalty, raising questions and attempting to provide an even-handed examination of this controversial practice. The authors combine analysis of important issues with excerpts from landmark legal decisions, important documents, survey results, and empirical data.

The first part of the book discusses the origins of the death penalty and traces its development from antiquity to contemporary times. Detailed statistical information about capital punishment is presented and discussed, and the death penalty is considered against a constitutional backdrop with various arguments--for and against--articulated. The second part of the book consists of three appendices. The first appendix presents an annotated list of important capital-punishment cases; the second supplies a more general chronological treatment of capital punishment; and the third provides a bibliographic essay directing readers to other relevant sources of interest. A thorough and insightful treatment, Capital Punishment provides both a summary of the current state of capital punishment and a discussion of areas of continuing controversy.

Review Quotes

About the Author

Joseph A. Melusky is professor of political science at St. Francis University in Loretto, PA, where he also serves as director of the Center for the Study of Government and Law and coordinator of the Political Science and Public Administration/Government Service Programs.

Keith Alan Pesto is magistrate judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.