CJBA 364 Death Penalty: Law and Policy

3 hours 

This is an exploration of the major legal and policy issues relating to the practice of the death penalty in the United States. Among other issues, the course examines the morality of capital punishment, current research on deterrence, cost, risk of error, and necessity of incapacitation, constitutional limits on the types of crimes and criminals for which the death penalty is permitted, and procedural restrictions on capital sentencing. This is a writing-intensive course, with an emphasis on developing written and spoken critical reasoning skills. The course relies extensively on the case study method, using major Supreme Court decisions and original research to highlight the major policy issues.