Now in its sixth edition, it was published by Greenhaven Press of San Diego in 2006. Earlier editions were published in 1986, 1991, 1997, 1998, and 2002.
Chapter | Viewpoint | Author | Notes |
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Why Consider Opposing Viewpoints? |
Introduction |
Chapter 1: Three Centuries of Debate on the Death Penalty | 1. The Death Penalty Will Discourage Crime (1701) | Paper presented before the English parliament | Hanging Not Punishment Enough for Murtherers, High-way Men, and House-Breakers (Transaction Publishers, 1990, hardcover {{ISBN>0-88738-369-6}} and paperback {{ISBN|0-88738-858-2}}). |
2. The Death Penalty Will Not Discourage Crime (1764) | Cesare Beccaria | Excerpt from An Essay on Crimes and Punishments . |
3. Society Must Retain the Death Penalty for Murder (1868) | John Stuart Mill | Excerpt from "[https://archive.today/20010430110007/http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Mill.html Speech In Favor of Capital Punishment]," in Hansard's Parliamentary Debate. |
4. The Death Penalty Is State-Sanctioned Murder (1872) | Horace Greeley | Hints Toward Reforms: In Lectures, Addresses, and Other Writings (Fowlers and Wells, 1853; Elibron Classics, 2005, paperback, {{ISBN>1-4021-7271-0}}). |
5. Capital Punishment Is a Safeguard for Society (1925) | Robert E. Crowe | Excerpt from "Capital Punishment Protects Society," The Forum, February 1925. |
6. Capital Punishment Will Not Safeguard Society (1928) | Clarence Darrow | Excerpt from "The Futility of the Death Penalty," The Forum, September 1928. |
Chapter 2: Is the Death Penalty Just? | 1. The Death Penalty Is Unjust | Progressive | From "The Case Against the Death Penalty," editorial, The Progressive, February 2000. |
2. The Death Penalty Is Just | Ernest van den Haag | America's Experiment With Capital Punishment: Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of the Ultimate Penal Sanction, edited by James R. Acker, Robert M. Bohm, and Charles S. Lanier (Carolina Academic Press, 1998, {{ISBN>0-89089-651-8}}; 2003, {{ISBN|0-89089-064-1}}). |
3. The Death Penalty Violates the Sanctity of Life | John Kavanaugh | From "Killing Persons, Killing Ethics," America, July 19–26, 1997. |
4. The Death Penalty Affirms the Sanctity of Life | Michael D. Bradbury | Reprint of "The Death Penalty Is an Affirmation of the Sanctity of Life," Los Angeles Times, 24 September 2000. |
5. The Death Penalty is Cruel and Unusual Punishment | Peter L. Berger | From "Beyond the 'Humanly Tolerable'," National Review, July 17, 2000. |
6. The Death Penalty Is Not Cruel and Unusual Punishment | Michael Scaljon | Reprint of "Liberals, Death-Penalty Protesters Endanger Society," Daily Texan, July 2, 1998. |
7. Executions Deliver Reasonable Retribution | Pat Buchanan | Reprint of "Death Penalty Is Act of Retribution, Not Revenge," Conservative Chronicle, February 18, 1998. |
8. Executions Do Not Deliver Reasonable Retribution | Marvin E. Wolfgang | Excerpt from "[https://web.archive.org/web/20010320153118/http://venus.soci.niu.edu/~archives/ABOLISH/rick-halperin/apr00/0185.html We Do Not Deserve to Kill]," Crime and Delinquency, January 1989. |
Chapter 3: Is the Death Penalty an Effective Deterrent? | 1. The Death Penalty Deters Crime | Jay Johansen | Reprint of "[https://archive.today/20010713071806/http://my.voyager.net/~jayjo/capdeter.htm Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime?]," March 29, 1998. |
2. The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Crime | Christine Notis and Edward Hunter | Part I: Reprint (minus endnotes) of "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060302093933/http://atrueword.com/index.php/article/articleview/51/1/1/ Is the Death Penalty an Effective Deterrent?]," 1997. Part II: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20060205090632/http://www.napa.ufl.edu/oldnews/death1.htm Experts Agree: Death Penalty Not a Deterrent to Violent Crime]", January 15, 1997. |
3. The Death Penalty Increases the Violent Crime Rate | Paul H. Rosenberg | Reprint of "Bush, Gore Both Wrong on Death Penalty Deterrence." 18 October 1999. |
4. Executions Deter Felony Murders | William Tucker | Reprint of "The Chair Deters," National Review, July 17, 2000. |
5. A High Conviction Rate Is a Stronger Deterrent Than the Death Penalty | Steven E. Landsburg | Reprint of "Does Crime Pay? Yes, for Those Who Don't Wince at the Small Chance of a Big Punishment," Slate, December 8, 1999. |
Chapter 4: Is the Death Penalty Applied Fairly? | 1. Wrongful Executions are Unlikely | Eugene H. Methvin | Reprint of "Death Penalty Is Fairer Than Ever," Wall Street Journal, May 10, 2000. |
2. Wrongful Executions are Likely | Clarence Page and Richard Cohen | Part I: From "'System Works'? Whose System?," Liberal Opinion Week, February 22, 1999. Part II: "The Vain Search for Deadly Accuracy," The Washington Post, April 20, 2000. |
3. DNA Evidence Reveals the Fallibility of Death Penalty Trials | Washington Post National Weekly Edition | Reprint of "Another DNA Exoneration," editorial, The Washington Post, January 25, 2001. |
4. DNA Evidence Will Increase Public Confidence in Death Penalty Trails | Gregg Easterbrook | The Myth of Fingerprints: DNA and the End of Innocence{{dead link>date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}," The New Republic, July 31, 2000. |
5. The Death Penalty Is Discriminatory | Mark Costanzo and Friends Committee on National Legislation | Part I: Reprint of "How Murderers Can Avoid the Executioner," The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 14, 1998. Part II: "[https://web.archive.org/web/20040412192512/http://www.fcnl.org/issues/cri/sup/death_penalty.htm The Death Penalty: Is It Arbitrary, Capricious, and Racially Skewed?]," editorial in FCNL Washington Newsletter, June 20, 2000. |
6. The Death Penalty Is Not Discriminatory | Dudley Sharp | Reprint of "The Death Penalty in Black and White," June 24, 1999. |
7. The Retarded Should Not Receive the Death Penalty | Rodney Ellis and Joseph Fiorenza | Reprint of "Criminal to Be Executing Mentally Retarded Inmates," Houston Chronicle, May 3, 1999. |
8. The Retarded Should Not Be Exempt From the Death Penalty | Cathleen C. Herasimchuk | Reprint of "Keep Inmates' IQs Out of Death Penalty Decisions," Houston Chronicle, May 21, 1999. |
For Further Discussion |
Organizations to Contact |
Bibliography of Books |
Index |