Book Description

Capital punishment, the death penalty, has enjoyed wide public support in the United States as the penalty of choice for one member of society taking the life of another. This viewpoint is not shared by most European governments -- perhaps because their murder rate is considerably lower. DNA testing, however, has begun to shed light not on the appropriateness of the penalty, but on the vastly imperfect system of what is jocularly termed justice. DNA evidence has overturned case after case resulting in a seashift in public opinion. This book examines current statutes dealing with the death penalty and presents a detailed bibliography on the topics with access provided by subject and author indexes.