ying it to our judicial system. In 1972 the Supreme Court decided that as the laws were written they were unconstitutional; therefore, the death penalty was banned. The states now had the responsibility of rewriting their death penalty laws. Many states have now adopted the policy of a two-part trial where the jury determines guilt or innocence and then determines the sentence based on any and all mitigating factors.One chapter in the book (10 pages) is dedicated to the topic of The arguments for and against capital punishment. It sites retribution and deterrence as reasons for and cost, racism and the possibility of executing innocent persons as reasons against. The last chapter focuses on the future of capital punishment. The lengthy process that one convicted and sentenced to death must go through in order to be executed and the continuing debate on the reformation of the appeals process.As I began reading this book I promised myself that I would keep an open mind. Judging by the overview of the book, I looked forward to being challenged; with strong facts for or against capital punishment; testimonials from victims families, those falsely convicted, or those that were about to die, all this in order to help shape my opinion on this heated subject. I got none of these from this author. It was clear after the first chapter that the author was not in favor of capital punishment. The book was mainly four stories about people that had clearly committed murder, but did not want to die themselves. The book was shaped so that the reader was led to believe that no matter what method of capital punishment was used none was humane enough to be truly effective. After each chapter, based on what I read, I was drawn to the conclusion that the death penalty was inhumane and flawed. This is mainly because I only received on side of the story. As long as the death penalty exists there will debate on it. If you are looking for something to help form ...
