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This updated encyclopedia provides ready information on all aspects of capital punishment in America. It details virtually every capital punishment decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court through 2006, including more than 40 cases decided since publication of the first edition. Entries are also provided for each Supreme Court Justice who has ever rendered a capital punishment opinion. Entries on jurisdictions cite present-day death penalty laws and judicial structure state by state, with synopses of common and unique features. Also included are entries on significant U.S. capital prosecutions; legal principles and procedures in capital cases; organizations that support and oppose capital punishment; capital punishment's impact on persons of African, Asian, Hispanic, and Native American descent, on women, and on foreign nationals; and the methods of execution. Essential facts are also provided on capital punishment in more than 200 other nations. A wealth of statistical data is found throughout
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Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States SECOND EDITION ALSO BY LOUIS J. PALMER, JR., AND FROM MCFARLAND Encyclopedia of DNA and the United States Criminal Justice System (2004) Encyclopedia of Abortion in the United States (2002) Organ Transplants from Executed Prisoners: An Argument for the Creation of Death Sentence Organ Removal Statutes (1999) The Death Penalty: An American Citizen’s Guide to Understanding Federal and State Laws (1998) Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States Second Edition LOUIS J. PALMER, JR. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Palmer, Louis, J. Encyclopedia of capital punishment in the United States / Louis J. Palmer, Jr.— 2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-3263-9 illustrated case binding : 50# alkaline paper ¡. Capital punishment — United States — Encyclopedias. I. Title. HV8694.P35 2008 364.660973'03 — dc22 2008021394 British Library cataloguing data are available ©2008 Louis J. Palmer, Jr. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Cover photograph ©2007 IndexStock Manufactured in the United States of America McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com To my mother, Maggie, for her guidance, devotion and grace This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface viii The Encyclopedia 1 Bibliography 601 Index 603 vii Preface The second edition of this encyclopedia builds upon the first by, among other things, including material that reflects alterations in capital punishment laws. Since the first edition appeared in 2001, the United States Supreme Court has issued more than forty opinions addressing capital punishment issues and, when necessary, state and federal capital punishment laws have been amended to reflect the Supreme Court’s decisions. Some of the changes brought about as a result of the decisions of the Supreme Court include prohibiting the execution of mentally retarded felons, barring imposition of capital punishment on defendants who commit capital crimes while younger than eighteen, and permitting death row inmates to use civil rights legislation to challenge aspects of the methods in which they are to be executed. The legal history of capital punishment dates to the founding of the nation. The American colonists brought capital punishment with them from Europe and, except between 1972 and 1976, the punishment has a