Against the Death Penalty

Reviews the book, Challenging Capital Punishment: Legal and Social Science Approaches edited by Kenneth C. Haas and James A. Inciardi (see record 1988-98312-000). The studies in this book, taken together, constitute a challenge to proponents of the death penalty. Haas and Inciardi seem to suggest that whether the death penalty should be used is a question that can be settled by reference to empirical data and inferences drawn from their analysis. And many of the studies assembled in this volume bear out this impression. In the penultimate chapter of the book, "Imposing the Death Penalty on Children," law professor Steib examines past and present American practice in condemning juvenile offenders to death. In addition, he sets out some of the legal, social, and moral reasons why capital punishment for crimes committed by children should be abolished. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)