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Criminal
Justice in America
Chapter 16: Capital Punishment |
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History of the Death Penalty in America Capital Punishment Links Links to all Bureau of Justice Statistics bulletins on capital punishment. Capital Punishment Statistics From the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Death Penalty Information A high school curriculum on the death penalty. Teacher Edition History & Recent Developments Good overview from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. History of the Death Penalty From PBS Frontline. History of the Death Penalty From the Death Penalty Information Center. Capital Punishment in the United States A history and many links. From Close Up Foundation. A Brief History of Wisconsin's Death Penalty The history of the state that has been without the death penalty the longest. Law about the Death Penalty Legal information, including statutes and case law, about the death penalty. Furman v. Georgia (1972) U.S. Supreme Court case declaring death penalty unconstitutional as it was then applied in the United States. Gregg v. Georgia (1976) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling constitutional death-penalty laws that allowed jurors to weigh mitigating and aggravating circumstances. McCleskey v. Kemp (1987) U.S. Supreme Court case holding that statistical variation in death penalty no enough to prove discrimination. Murray v. Giarratano (1989) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that death-row inmates have no right to free legal assistance after an initial round of appeals. Coleman v. Thompson (1991) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that inmates may lose their right to appeal if they make procedural errors. Supreme Court cases holding that inmates may not take advantage of rule changes made after they have exhausted their appeals: Penry v. Lynaugh (1989) U.S. Supreme Court case holding that the death penalty can be applied to mentally retarded criminals. The U.S. Supreme Court overruled this case in Atkins v. Virginia (2002). The court in a 6-3 decision stated that a consensus seems to have been reached in the United States against executing mentally retarded criminals. Payne v. Tennessee (1991) U.S. Supreme Court case allowing victim-impact statements in death-penalty hearings. Herrera v. Collins (1993) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that inmates may not get a hearing on new-found evidence unless the evidence overwhelming proves their innocence. Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act Summary of its provisions. Felker v. Turpin (1996) This U.S. Supreme Court case decided that the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996's limitation on habeas corpus does not violate the U.S. Constitution. Williams, Terry v. Taylor (2000) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that a defendant had been deprived of effective counsel when his attorney failed to mention important mitigating factors at his sentencing hearing. Williams, Michael Wayne v. Taylor (2000) U.S. Supreme Court case ruling that a defendant did not receive a fair trial when it was not disclosed that a member of the jury knew the sheriff and prosecutor. Ring v. Arizona (2002) The U.S. Supreme Court held that juries, not judges, must decide whether to impose the death penalty. Death Penalty: An Overview A summary of death penalty law and links to other information. From the Legal Information Institute. A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995 This statistical study, conducted by Professor James Liebman of the Columbia University School of Law, found that death penalty cases take so long in appeals "because American capital sentences are so persistently and systematically fraught with error that seriously undermines their reliability." Study Fails to Prove That Death Penalty Is Unfair Article from Claremont Institute arguing that Leibman's study is deeply flawed. The Death Penalty More than 1,000 links to death penalty sites. Amnesty International: Website Against the Death Penalty Information about the death penalty from an anti-death penalty perspective. Death Penalty and Sentencing Info Information about the death penalty from a pro-death penalty point of view. Focus on the Death Penalty Links on all aspects of capital punishment. Influencing the Supreme Court: Is the Death Penalty Unconstitutional? A webquest. Public Opinion on the Death Penalty What Can We Learn From Americans' Views About the Death Penalty? The editor of the Gallup Poll attempts to reconcile Americans seemingly different opinions on capital punishment. Death Penalty Polls The latest opinion polls on the death penalty from the Gallup organization. More Death Penalty Polls Polls on the death penalty collected by The Polling Report. Recent Developments in Capital Punishment Capital Punishment Statistics The latest statistics and publications on the death penalty from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Karla Faye Tucker Extensive article. Karla Faye Tucker: Texas' Controversial Murderess A biography of Tucker. Texas Department of Criminal Justice Statistics Statistics about the prisoners currently on death row in Texas, including gender and racial statistics. The Execution The story of an execution by PBS's Frontline. Growing Doubts About the Death Penalty This 2000 National Journal article by William Schneider discusses the changing politics of capital punishment. Can the Death Penalty Be Saved From Its Supporters? This National Journal article argues that proponents of the death penalty should support steps to reduce doubts about the guilt of those sentenced to death. The Unkillable Death Penalty This Slate article argues that with DNA evidence, which allows guilt to be more conclusively proven, the death penalty will be harder to abolish. Innocence Project Run by the Cardozo School of Law, this project attempts to provide free legal assistance to those seeking to prove their innocence through DNA tests. Failure of the Death Penalty in Illinois The Chicago Tribune series that exposed errors and incompetence surrounding the implementation of the death penalty in Illinois. Before you can read this, you must scroll to the bottom of the special reports to find this one, click on it, and register for free. PBS Newshour Reports on the Death Penalty in Illinois: Illinois Wrongful Capital Murder Convictions Profiles of each of the prisoners on Illinois' death row who were released because of court findings of strong evidence of innocence. Death Penalty Debate PBS interview with two governors, Republicans George Ryan of Illinois and Frank Keating of Oklahoma, and two U.S. Senators, Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah. The Wrong Man This 1999 Atlantic Monthly article argues that it is highly likely that innocent people will be executed in America. Innocence Protection Act Senator Patrick Leahy's site in favor of the act. Nation: Death Penalty Links to anti-death penalty articles from the Nation magazine. Religion, Politics, and the Death Penalty A discussion on the death penalty between Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and U.S. Senator from Illinois Paul Simon. Death Penalty Reconsidered Articles from the Washington Post on the death penalty. Death Penalty Information Center An award-winning, anti-death penalty site. Pro-Death Penalty A resource for pro-death penalty information. The Death Penalty: Pro and Con A PBS Frontline site providing articles on both sides of the capital-punishment issue. |