Death Penalty in America Legal Studies 485, Spring 2003 Department of Legal Studies Instructor:  Judith L. Holmes, J.D., Ph.D. Office:  Hampshire House 215 Office hours:  Wednesday, 1:30 – 4:30 Email:  jholmes@legal.umass.edu

Course description Assignments Assigned readings Discussion questions Additional readings Website links

 

In the year 2002, 71 Americans were executed by the federal government and various state governments. Since these executions were performed by the state in all of our names, we ought to have an informed opinion about the death penalty.  This course is an opportunity to explore (and possibly revise) your thinking on the death penalty.  It will be a collaborative effort among yourselves, as students, and with me, as instructor, to understand the legal reasoning of courts, evaluate empirical data, and assess the merit of arguments for and against the death penalty.  We will look at the death penalty from different perspectives:  legal, social, political, and moral.  By the end of the semester, you will have developed an informed, defensible opinion on the death penalty which you will present in a final essay.

Number of Executions, 1976-2002

All material on this website is the property of Prof. Judith L. Holmes and may not be used for any commercial purpose without her express permission. Produced and maintained by Judith L. Holmes, jholmes@legal.umass.edu, Department of Legal Studies | University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Last updated on January 21, 2003