This revised and updated Second Edition is an innovative, balanced, and comprehensive overview of capital punishment. It offers an unbiased examination of the death penalty, supported by statistics and Supreme Court cases, and followed by pro and con discussions. The book addresses every major issue relating to the death penalty including deterrence, racial impact, arbitrariness, its use on special populations, and methods of execution. Designed for the undergraduate and graduate level courses on the death penalty and capital punishment, and even ethics and law, this text challenges students...