| The second edition of this encyclopedia builds upon the first by, among other things, including material that reflects alterations in capital punishment laws. Since the first edition appeared in 2001, the United States Supreme Court has issued more than forty opinions addressing capital punishment issues and, when necessary, state and federal capital punishment laws have been amended to reflect the Supreme Court’s decisions. Some of the changes brought about as a result of the decisions of the Supreme Court include prohibiting the execution of mentally retarded felons, barring imposition of capital punishment on defendants who commit capital crimes while younger than eighteen, and permitting death row inmates to use civil rights legislation to challenge aspects of the methods in which they are to be executed.
The legal history of capital punishment dates to the founding of the nation. The American colonists brought capital punishment with them from Europe and, except between 1972 and 1976, the punishment has always been a living instrument in Anglo-American jurisprudence. This encyclopedia provides a comprehensive A-to-Z source of information on the legal, social and political history and the status of capital punishment. The breadth of coverage provided by the entries is especially critical at this juncture of capital punishment’s history. Tremendous pressure continues to be brought domestically and internationally to remove capital punishment from every penal code in the United States. The outcome of the struggle will be resolved in large part by the understanding or lack of understanding of the punishment by the majority of the citizenry. This encyclopedia should serve not only as a tool for academic researchers, but for laypersons on both sides of the debate. |
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