The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Crimes & Criminals, Penology, Reference & Language, Law, Criminal law, Criminology
Cover of the book The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment by Franklin E. Zimring, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Franklin E. Zimring ISBN: 9780190292379
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: November 18, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Franklin E. Zimring
ISBN: 9780190292379
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: November 18, 2004
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Why does the United States continue to employ the death penalty when fifty other developed democracies have abolished it? Why does capital punishment become more problematic each year? How can the death penalty conflict be resolved? In The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment, Frank Zimring reveals that the seemingly insoluble turmoil surrounding the death penalty reflects a deep and long-standing division in American values, a division that he predicts will soon bring about the end of capital punishment in our country. On the one hand, execution would seem to violate our nation's highest legal principles of fairness and due process. It sets us increasingly apart from our allies and indeed is regarded by European nations as a barbaric and particularly egregious form of American exceptionalism. On the other hand, the death penalty represents a deeply held American belief in violent social justice that sees the hangman as an agent of local control and safeguard of community values. Zimring uncovers the most troubling symptom of this attraction to vigilante justice in the lynch mob. He shows that the great majority of executions in recent decades have occurred in precisely those Southern states where lynchings were most common a hundred years ago. It is this legacy, Zimring suggests, that constitutes both the distinctive appeal of the death penalty in the United States and one of the most compelling reasons for abolishing it. Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Contradictions in American Capital Punishment casts a clear new light on America's long and troubled embrace of the death penalty.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Why does the United States continue to employ the death penalty when fifty other developed democracies have abolished it? Why does capital punishment become more problematic each year? How can the death penalty conflict be resolved? In The Contradictions of American Capital Punishment, Frank Zimring reveals that the seemingly insoluble turmoil surrounding the death penalty reflects a deep and long-standing division in American values, a division that he predicts will soon bring about the end of capital punishment in our country. On the one hand, execution would seem to violate our nation's highest legal principles of fairness and due process. It sets us increasingly apart from our allies and indeed is regarded by European nations as a barbaric and particularly egregious form of American exceptionalism. On the other hand, the death penalty represents a deeply held American belief in violent social justice that sees the hangman as an agent of local control and safeguard of community values. Zimring uncovers the most troubling symptom of this attraction to vigilante justice in the lynch mob. He shows that the great majority of executions in recent decades have occurred in precisely those Southern states where lynchings were most common a hundred years ago. It is this legacy, Zimring suggests, that constitutes both the distinctive appeal of the death penalty in the United States and one of the most compelling reasons for abolishing it. Impeccably researched and engagingly written, Contradictions in American Capital Punishment casts a clear new light on America's long and troubled embrace of the death penalty.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Three Early Modern Utopias: Thomas More: Utopia / Francis Bacon: New Atlantis / Henry Neville: The Isle of Pines by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Nuclear Cardiac Imaging by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Sense and Sensibility Level 5 Oxford Bookworms Library by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book The Origin and Evolution of New Businesses by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Boudica by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book A Christmas Carol Level 3 Oxford Bookworms Library by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Too Much Is Not Enough by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Forged by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Electoral Integrity in America by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Reference and Existence by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Expect Us by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Philosophy of Language: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Verdun by Franklin E. Zimring
Cover of the book Ankylosing Spondylitis by Franklin E. Zimring
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy