DeathQuest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States

DeathQuest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States, Fourth Edition, provides a comprehensive discussion of the issues surrounding the death penalty in the United States. Arguments for and against capital punishment are examined.
The book begins by tracing the history of the death penalty in the United States, from the colonial period to modern times (1608 until the mid-1960s). It reviews landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions that shaped the practice of capital punishment. Also discussed are methods of execution; the issue of general deterrence; incapacitation and economic costs of capital punishment; miscarriages of justice in capital cases; arbitrariness and discrimination in the administration of the death penalty; and retribution and religion in relation to the death penalty. The book concludes with a discussion of American death penalty opinion. It covers the history of death penalty opinion; research on the hypothesis that support for the death penalty is largely a product of ignorance about capital punishment; and the future of American death penalty opinions and their potential impact on the use of capital punishment in the United States.

• Comprehensive, unbiased review of developments in death penalty law and procedure, including new case law on death-eligible crimes and execution by lethal injection
• Current data on costs, miscarriages of justice, discriminatory application, religion, and death penalty public opinion
• Analysis of new research regarding the effectiveness of the death penalty in terms of deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation

Robert M. Bohm is a professor at the University of Central Florida Department of Criminal Justice. A prolific author and speaker, Professor Bohm's work has appeared in numerous publications. He is a frequent presenter and speaker at meetings and seminars of a variety of professional associations, including the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, and the Southern Criminal Justice Association. Professor Bohm is a past-president (1992-93) and Fellow (1999) of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, from which he has also received the Founder's Award (2001) and the Bruce Smith, Sr. Award (2008).