The Death Penalty in the United States: A Complete Guide to Federal and State Laws

This tightly written volume is a primer on the legal aspects of capital punishment in America, not an argument for or against current federal or state laws regarding government-sanctioned execution. Palmer (attorney, West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals; Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States) states that his aim is to provide "a comprehensive examination of the differences in death penalty systems in the nation." To that end, 29 chapters grouped into six sections discuss historical background, the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits "cruel and unusual punishments," and the legal mechanisms that take criminal defendants from being charged with a capital offense through court proceedings, sentencing, and thence to their ultimate fate and even beyond, as in the chillingly titled chapter on "Execution Methods and Corpse Disposal." The author has for the most part avoided "legalese," and while some technical language is unavoidable, this text will be accessible to educated readers outside of the legal profession. A glossary is included. This second edition represents a substantial updating and expansion of the 1998 first edition, with 13 additional chapters. As one would expect, the text is fully annotated. An appendix details each state's death penalty laws, if applicable.