The Death Penalty on the Ballot
American Democracy and the Fate of Capital Punishment

Focuses on what happens when the American public gets decide on the fate of capital punishment.

Austin Sarat (Author)

9781108711579, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 April 2019

202 pages, 2 tables
22.7 x 15.6 x 1.2 cm, 0.3 kg

'Sarat and his collaborators bring deep expertise on the American death penalty to bear in this fascinating and comprehensive exploration of ballot questions regarding the abolition or retention of capital punishment over the past century. They uncover a treasure trove of materials that span quite different political moments - a rich historical record that sheds light on both the grisly practice of state executions and on the promise and perils of democracy itself.' Carol S. Steiker, Henry J. Friendly Professor of Law, Harvard University

Investigating the attitudes about capital punishment in contemporary America, this book poses the question: can ending the death penalty be done democratically? How is it that a liberal democracy like the United States shares the distinction of being a leading proponent of the death penalty with some of the world's most repressive regimes? Reporting on the first study of initiative and referendum processes used to decide the fate of the death penalty in the United States, this book explains how these processes have played an important, but generally neglected, role in the recent history of America's death penalty. While numerous scholars have argued that the death penalty is incompatible with democracy and that it cannot be reconciled with democracy's underlying commitment to respect the equal dignity of all, Professor Austin Sarat offers the first study of what happens when the public gets to decide on the fate of capital punishment.

1. Introduction: when the death penalty goes public
2. Retention, abolition, and restoration in the early days of the death penalty referendum process
3. The people versus their representatives: going to the polls to support capital punishment
4. Targeting the courts
5. A tool for abolition?
6. Conclusion: democracy and the fate of capital punishment.

Subject Areas: Criminal law & procedure [LNF], Law & society [LAQ], Jurisprudence & general issues [LA], Politics & government [JP], Ethical issues: capital punishment [JFMC]