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The Death Penalty in the Post‐ Furman Era: A Review of the Issues and the Debate
Author(s) -
Poveda Tony G.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
sociology compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 31
ISSN - 1751-9020
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00226.x
Subject(s) - arbitrariness , constitutionality , capital punishment , supreme court , law , criminology , appeal , parochialism , innocence , life imprisonment , punishment (psychology) , sociology , criminal justice , political science , principle of legality , prison , psychology , philosophy , social psychology , linguistics , politics
This is a review of the issues and debate over capital punishment in the United States during the post‐ Furman era (since 1972). It encompasses a review of the legal issues, highlighting major U.S. Supreme Court cases in which the constitutionality of the death penalty has been challenged. These constitutional challenges have included issues of arbitrariness and race discrimination in the application of the death penalty. Also considered is the Court's ‘evolving standards of decency’ test in terms of what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment – relative to the execution of juveniles and the mentally retarded and whether lethal injection is cruel and unusual. The post‐ Furman era death penalty debate is comprised of two phases, both raised questions about public confidence in the criminal justice system. Phase one, occurring in the 1980s and early 1990s, was concerned with the lengthy appeal process and the lack of finality in capital cases. Phase two emerged in the late 1990s and 2000s and focused on the accuracy (wrongful convictions) and fairness (arbitrariness and discrimination) of the administration of capital punishment. The DNA revolution and a parade of high‐profile exonerations in the United States contributed to this latter phase. Finally, the death penalty debate is considered from an international and human rights perspective.