The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence

by Frank R. Baumgartner, Suzanna L. De Boef, Amber E. Boydstun

Since 1996, death sentences in America have declined more than 60 percent, reversing a generation-long trend toward greater acceptance of capital punishment. In theory, most Americans continue to support the death penalty. But it is no longer seen as a theoretical matter. Prosecutors, judges, and juries across the country have moved in large numbers to give much greater credence to the possibility of mistakes -- mistakes that in this arena are potentially fatal. The discovery of innocence, documented here through painstaking analyses of media coverage and with newly developed methods, has led to historic shifts in public opinion and to a sharp decline in use of the death penalty by juries across the country. A social cascade, starting with legal clinics and innocence projects, has snowballed into a national phenomenon that may spell the end of the death penalty in America.

310 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about the death penalty, the shifting media frames of capital punishment in the US and how the latter affected the former. It was very insightful into the overall debate of capital punishment, and focused in particular on the different framing during the last 60 years. However it didn't go into the arguments for or against death penalty, but just analysed how often they were used. So if you're looking for a book on the morality of capital punishment in the US, this isn't it. However if you're looking for a book analyzing the political debate of death penalty, and how it affected both public opinion and prosecutor's demand for it, then this it it. It's well written and structured, although at times written for political scientist. Overall a good read.