This volume consists of papers and interviews which attempt to shed a strong light on the ethical problems that the death penalty presents, to put a finger on what constitutes the core problem of this punishment, and to show where humanity stands in this respect in the first quarter of the 21 st century. Its contributors are Robert (Renny) Cushing, Michele Duvivier Pierre-Louis, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, Gilbert (Gill) Garcetti, Hanne Sophie Greve, Phillip F. Iya, Sylvie Zainabo Kayitesi, Ioanna Kucuradi (ed.), Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Joaquin Jos'e Martínez, Federico Mayor, Ibrahim Najjar, Rajiv Narayan, Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, Bill Richardson, Jos'e Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Horacio Verbitsky and Asunta Vivo.

In the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens backed the cause of abolition of the death penalty and wrote comprehensively about it, in public letters and in his novels. At the end of the twentieth century, Jacques Derrida ran two years of seminars on the subject, which were published posthumously. What the novelist and the philosopher of deconstruction discussed independently, this book brings into comparison. Tambling examines crime and punishment in Dickens's novels Barnaby Rudge, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist and Bleak House and explores those who influenced Dickens's work, including Hogarth, Fielding, Godwin and Edgar Allen Poe. This book also looks at those who influenced Derrida – Freud, Nietzsche, Foucault and Blanchot – and considers Derrida's study on terrorism and the USA as the only major democracy adhering to the death penalty. A comprehensive study of punishment in Dickens, and furthering Derrida's insights by commenting on Shakespeare and blood, revenge, the French Revolution, and the enduring power of violence and its fascination, this book is a major contribution to literary criticism on Dickens and Derrida. Those interested in literature, criminology, law, gender, and psychoanalysis will find it an essential intervention in a topic still rousing intense argument.

In the face of an uncertain and dangerous world, Americans yearn for a firm moral compass, a clear set of ethical guidelines. But as history shows, by reducing complex situations to simple cases of right or wrong we often go astray. In Morality's Muddy Waters, historian George Cotkin offers a clarion call on behalf of moral complexity. Revisiting several defining moments in the twentieth century—the American bombing of civilians during World War II, the My Lai massacre, racism in the South, capital punishment, the invasion of Iraq—Cotkin chronicles how historical figures have grappled with the problem of evil and moral responsibility—sometimes successfully, oftentimes not. In the process, he offers a wide-ranging tour of modern American history. Taken together, Cotkin maintains, these episodes reveal that the central concepts of morality—evil, empathy, and virtue—are both necessary and troubling. Without empathy, for example, we fail to inhabit the world of others; with it, we sometimes elevate individual suffering over political complexities. For Cotkin, close historical analysis may help reenergize these concepts for ethical thinking and acting. Morality's Muddy Waters argues for a moral turn in the way we study and think about history, maintaining that even when answers to ethical dilemmas prove elusive, the act of grappling with them is invaluable.

Forgiveness is important in international politics because it can save thousands of lives. Its opposite, vengefulness, has played a significant part in various wars of the 20th and 21st centuries. These conflicts are examined in this book, showing how forgiveness could have avoided the tremendous ensuing bloodshed. Despite its importance, in the context of international relations, forgiveness as a means of preventing the outbreak of war (as opposed to facilitating reconciliation after conflicts) has largely been neglected as a subject of study. Indeed, it has also been ignored by politicians, as a result of which there are few examples of forgiveness to study compared with those of revenge. This book reflects this reality, but also seeks to change it by raising public awareness of the importance of forgiveness in international affairs and the need to demand that political leaders explore this avenue. The book also provides a succinct, informative guide to the background of today’s international affairs. Each chapter can be read independently and highlights either forgiveness in action or the futility and loss of life caused by vengefulness, demonstrating where and how forgiveness could have made a dramatic difference.

The Death Penalty, Third Edition, brings together all the legal issues related to the death penalty and provides case briefs for the most important United States Supreme Court death penalty cases. No other book available brings together a discussion of the major constitutional issues surrounding the death penalty with a broad array of associated case briefs. The authors classify cases according to legal issues and provide a commentary on the various sub-topics, presenting legal materials in an easily understood form. Though the primary audiences of the book are undergraduates in criminal justice programs and practitioners in the corrections and justice systems, the book will also prove useful to anyone who has an interest in the death penalty, the criminal justice system, or the United States Constitution. Every chapter starts with commentaries regarding general case law in a sub-topic, such as aggravating and mitigating factors, followed by a chart of the cases briefed in the chapter, and then the case briefs. These case briefs acquaint the reader with Supreme Court cases by summarizing facts, issues, reasons, and holdings. The Death Penalty, Third Edition , is a succinct, trusted guide to the law of capital punishment in the United States.

"Justice for Deborah Thornton is complete, " Richard Thornton said after the execution of her killer, Karla Faye Tucker, in Texas. "I want to say to every victim in the world, demand this." But which form of justice is this victim demanding-retribution or restoration? Taking seriously the claims of death penalty supporters, Lloyd Steffen constructs a theory of just execution. For every acknowledged killer on death row there are dozens who maintain their innocence. Supporters of the death penalty -- along with its opponents -- must demand fairness so that innocent persons are not subjected to the terror of an unjust execution. Reminding us that Jesus likewise faced the terror of unjust execution, Steffen asks Christians to reacquaint themselves with the symbol of the cross as an instrument of state terror rather than a divine decoration.

Bringing together the major death penalty cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court and the legal issues related to the death penalty, this text classifies the cases according to legal issues, provides commentary on the general case law, provides a chart of the cases discussed, and then presents the legal materials in an understandable, easy-to-digest case brief format. Each chapter includes an outline; briefs for cases that include facts, holding, reasoning and opinions; summary and conclusions; and internet resources.

In a world where genocide, hunger, poverty, war, and disease persist and where richer nations often fail to act to address these problems or act too late, a prerequisite to achieving even modest social justice goals is to clarify the meaning of competing discourses on the concept. Throughout history, calls for social justice have been used to rationalize the status quo, promote modest reforms, and justify revolutionary, even violent action. Ironically, as the prominence of the concept has risen, the meaning of social justice has become increasingly obscured. This authoritative volume explores different perspectives on social justice and what its attainment would involve. It addresses key issues, such as resolving fundamental questions about human nature and social relationships; the distribution of resources, power, status, rights, access, and opportunities; and the means by which decisions regarding this distribution are made. Illustrating the complexity of the topic, it presents a range of international, historical, and theoretical perspectives, and discusses the dilemmas inherent in implementing social justice concepts in policy and practice. Covering more than abstract definitions of social justice, it also includes multiple examples of how social justice might be achieved at the interpersonal, organizational, community, and societal levels. With contributions from leading scholars around the globe, Reisch has put together a magisterial and multi-faceted overview of social justice. It is an essential reference work for all scholars with an interest in social justice from a wide range of disciplines, including social work, public policy, public health, law, criminology, sociology, and education.

A comprehensive, three-volume set that provides detailed background essays, short topical entries, and primary document excerpts to explain the organization, history, and functioning of the U.S. justice system. The U.S. Justice System: An Encyclopedia is a one-stop resource, uniquely structured to include both introductory information as well as more in-depth and detailed resources. It explains not only how the American civil and criminal justice system affects the parties to a particular case or other legal action, but also how the rights, benefits, and legal protections of our country impact virtually all people in America. The set comprises three volumes. The first volume provides chapter-length essays explaining the organization and functioning of federal, state, and local government, as well as the working of federal and state judiciaries, regulatory bodies, and penal systems. The second volume contains shorter, alphabetically arranged entries on hundreds of law-related topics, including case descriptions and biographies of major figures, federal and state court organizational charts, legal statistics, and other background information. The third volume contains original documents, statutes, and texts of important cases relevant to the functioning of the American justice system. Readers will understand the structures, concepts, and vocabulary of American law and legal institutions, and grasp how the U.S. legal system has evolved to meet the complex changing needs of the nation.

Experts on both side of the issue speak out both for and against capital punishment and the rationale behind their individual beliefs.