The Death Penalty

Catalog description

This course provides students an overview of a wide range of works within the topic of the death penalty authored by the most renowned experts in the field. Various issues examined include legislative challenges, racial discrimination, wrongful conviction, cost, deterrence, mitigation research, and the role of health and mental health professionals. Through landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, influential meta-analyses on empirical studies, and legal analyses, this course provides an in-depth look at the theory, research, policy, and practice of this punishment, and discusses the limitations of current empirical approaches and the gap between practice and penological ideals.