Capital Punishment

Joseph A. Melusky serves as Professor of Political Science, Director of the Center for the Study of Government and Law, Coordinator of Public Administration/Government Service, and Director of the Pre-Law program at Saint Francis University, USA.

• Alphabetical List of Entries ixTopical List of Entries xiiiPreface xviiAcknowledgments xxPART I: History and Politics 11 A Brief History of Capital Punishment 3The Constitution and the Death Penalty 3The Death Penalty in Pre-Colonial Times 5The Death Penalty in America: Colonial Roots 8Statistics and Facts about the Death Penalty 102 The Politics of Capital Punishment 13Arguments against the Death Penalty 13Arguments in Favor of the Death Penalty 15Old (and Gruesome) Methods of Execution 18Contemporary Methods of Execution 23Botched Executions 29Post-Furman Presidents and the Death Penalty 33PART II: A–Z Entries 39–311PART III: Primary Source Documents 313Code of Hammurabi (c. 1780 bce) 313The Bible, Book of Exodus (c. 1300 bce) 315The Twelve Tables of the Roman Republic (c. 450 bce) 317The Magna Carta (June 15, 1215) 320The English Bill of Rights (1689) 321The American Declaration of Independence (1776) 322Ordinance of the Northwest Territory (1787) 324Amendments to the United States Constitution (1791, 1868) 325United Nations Resolution on the Use of the Death Penalty (December 17, 2019) 327Chronology 330Glossary 349Bibliography 352About the Editor and Contributors 367Index 369

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