Annotated Bibliography: Against Capital Punishment (Annotated Bibliography Sample)

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Annotated Bibliography: Against Capital Punishment
Introduction
Capital punishment is an issue that has raised various social, religious and ethical issues since its inception. Different countries across the globe have since abolished the practice on the premise that it undermines human worth. Indeed, it can not be disputed that the practice has far reaching implications on not only the offender but also on the family, relatives and the entire society. It is in this regard that this paper provides a detailed annotated bibliography that underscores that counter arguments of capital punishment.
Gardner, Hanks. Against Death Penalty. USA: Herald Press, 1997.
The writer provides a collection of compelling arguments regarding capital punishment. He uses a host of information from both the new and Old Testament bible and argues that death penalty is inhuman. According to him, it has more detrimental than beneficial effects and does not enforce justice to all parties. He draws his arguments from various researches that ascertain that capital punishment is indeed not a deterrent measure. He therefore suggests that other measures need to be undertaken to fights crime, rather than employ the ineffective death penalty. However, this book might not benefit the segment of the population that does not believe in ideals upheld by the Christianity. Nevertheless, it provides vital arguments that capture a significant percentage of arguments provided in other sources. This makes it a viable source for students undertaking revision and for sustainable reference for professionals seeking to make timely reviews.
Mark, Costanzo. Just Revenge: The Pros and Cons of Capital Punishment. USA: Worth Publishers, 1997
Costanzo argues that the current trends ascertain that the effectiveness of capital punishment in the United States is largely at stake. He bases his deductions on vital data that ascertains that the number of offenders being condemned for death penalty has increased significantly. He maintains that capital punishment is an unfair and cruel act that has failed dismally to prevent the soaring incidences of crime. He argues that in order to obtain optimal results and reduce criminal cases significantly, the criminal justice needs to replace this by life sentence without parole. He traces the history of capital punishment and underscores the purposes for which the punishment was meant for. He notes that over time, its effectiveness in preventing and curbing crime has decreased and offenders are increasingly getting immune to the implications of the same. In addition, he considers the beneficial effects of capital punishment and shows that it is comparatively cheaper than imprisonment. Generally, it presents a critical argument of the costs and benefits of the same. It can be considered a very effective book for any academic study in sociology and /or criminal justice.
Russell, Adam & Paul, Cassell (eds.). Debating Capital Punishment. Congressional Quarterly Weekly, 3 (2005): 409-86.
Adam and Paul present various essays that analyze different view points of the Americans regarding the death penalty. These are drawn from numerous critical sources that range from the public response and the pardoning of capital criminals, analyses of legal personnel like the judges and lawyers to the perceptions of the philosophers and the clergy regarding the issue. The contributors make a remarked evaluation of various facets of capital punishment. In particular, they critically review the sensitivity that is related to race issues, economic concerns, morality, retribution, the position of the United States in comparison with other countries, its deterrence values, and various risks involved including that of the possibility of wrong executions and the implications of the punishment to the family members and close relations.
Irrespective of the fact that these contributors lay particular emphasis on their individual view points, it is notable that they equally evaluate the relative issue of life and death. The article is considered imperative for this study because it can be employed as a single source by students pursuing criminal justice. This is because of the fact that it critically reviews all the relative aspects that are related to the issue under review. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that it fails to accredit its arguments with factual data. At this juncture, it is worth noting that this greatly undermines is objectivity in analyzing death punishment. Nonetheless, it provides useful insights that can not only be employed in academic study but can also form the basement upon which future research can be based.
Stuart, Banner. The Death Penalty. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 1 (2003): 77-92.
The author provides a comprehensive analysis of the American perceptions of capital punishment since historical times. In addition, he provides an explicit evaluation of the technological changes that have taken place since the institution of the punishment. Banner cites that in historical times, execution took place in public and prayers were said and sermons read before the process. Comparatively, he indicates that the modern process is characterized by significant secrecy as only few individuals are allowed to attend. He also ascertains the fact that the cruelty associated with the practice contributed significantly to its abolishment after the civil war. Its revival and enforcement, he argues, reflects the modern degree of harshness that is associated with punishment. He decries the practice and argues that in the current era, other options need to be explored. According to him, the technological advancements have provided vital options that can equally enforce the relative justice that the practice is meant to uphold.
He also shows that the attitude of the US population regarding death penalty has undergone various changes. In this respect, he indicates that a significant part of the population agree to the practice and contend that it should be enforced. In contrast the historical population considered the practice to be unfair and thus it was only employed sparingly and only in specific cases. Irrespective of the fact that its main focus is the changing attitudes of the population on death penalty, the review can be considered to be very insightful because of its in-depth analysis of the issue that it pursues.
Franklin, Zimring. Controversies Surrounding American Capital Punishment. Oxford: University Press, 2004.
In his analytic review, Franklin presents various controversies surrounding death penalty in America. He is provocative and poses various questions to the public regarding this sensitive issue of capital punishment. According to him, he does not approve of the practice and argues that it is a presentation of the biases that the society accords the relative offenders. In particular, he cites that in the past, various individuals have been increasingly identified and executed for crimes that they were not responsible for. Such cases according to him are racially perpetuated and therefore prejudiced and should be shunned. He does not understand why amongst all the democracies that are established, America is the only one that pursues the practice. He contends that this can be attributed to the vigilante values that the nation upholds. In this regard, he maintains that the misinformed cultural and political forces greatly influence the enforcement of the practice.
He laments that this has borne negative effects because similar ideas are being assessed on to the next generations and are likely to be more detrimental in future. In this regard, he asserts that numerous developing countries that abandoned the practice are far much better than America. Franklin’s analysis is a thought provoking review that stimulates critical analysis of the issue of capital punishment. Thus is not only considered important for academic studies but it also forms an important basement for critical thinking for students pursuing courses related to criminal justice.
Jamie, Fellner & Sarah Tofte. Implications of Death Penalty in the Unites States. Human Rights Watch, 1 (2006): 1-56.
The authors argue that death penalty is an inhuman activity that needs to be abolished in the United States. This is due to the relative physical and emotional pain not only to the offender but also to the relatives of the same. This is also approved by the law of the human rights watch whose prepositions suggest that until its amendment, alternative options that inflict the least pain to the offenders should be employed. This according to the authors was implemented in a bit to reduce emotional and physical suffering that he offenders go through. In particular, Jamie and Sarah argue against the use of lethal injection that is commonly employed in the United States. They back this up using factual information from the various states in the United States. Indeed, their findings assert that of the thirty nine states that have mainstreamed capital punishment within their law, thirty seven of them employ lethal injection in execution.
Of these, the authors point out that nineteen have legalized it as the only method of execution. This has been done irrespective of the fact that the process inflicts excruciating pain in the individuals. Thus from an ethical standpoint, ...