THE DEATH PENALTY IN AMERICA An Anthology

Paperback. Revised Anchor Books Edn. Is capital punishment necessary, or even useful in the United States. Seldom has dispute over this issue been carried on with adequate reference to the facts involved. To make a sound decision, one needs answers to many questions, which this book, surveying both sides of the issue, attempts to provide. What crimes today are punishable by death? What proportion of those convicted of them are executed? Does racial prejudice enter the picture? What has happened to the rate of these crimes in states that have abolished the death penalty? Is imprisonment as good a protection for police and public? Have paroled murderers murdered again? Are legislators and law enforcement officers in favour of capital punishment? What do religious groups think? The author has composed a number of illuminating essays on facets of these problems previously little discussed in print, and has drawn together the opinions of several distinguished writers on the subject, including : John Barlow Martin, Sidney Hook, Thorstein Sellin, Jacques Barzun, and J. Edgar Hoover. With Bibliog. and Index. 584pp. p/back. With neat name insc. to ffep, showing signs of shelf wear o/w G++