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Capital punishment: The death penaltyWeb sites and books
Sponsored link.
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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Information sources:
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"Criminology: Death Penalty Resources" has an extensive list of links to websites both pro and anti capital punishment, as well as websites discussing death penalty laws, religious aspects and wrongful murder convictions. See: http://www.criminology.net/
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"Status of the international covenants on human rights:
Question of the death penalty," UN Economic and Social
Council, 1998-JAN-16, at: http://www.unhchr.ch/
This lists the current status of the death penalty, worldwide.
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The Clark County (IN) Prosecuting Attorney maintains a
listing of over 1000 death penalty links, both pro and con. See: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/
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The alt.activism.death-penalty
news group dedicated to the capital punishment issue
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The Michigan State University Libraries have a "Criminal Justice
Resources Home Page" with many links to sites with death penalty information.
See: http://www.lib.msu.edu/
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List Verse has a group of "Top 10 lists" including one of "10 convicts presumed innocent after execution." See: http://listverse.com/
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A summary of a 15 page annual report, prepared by the U.S. Department of Justice,
Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics lists statistical data about
capital punishment in the United States. The report was issued in 1994-DEC. See: http://sun.soci.niu.edu/
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The The Death Row Page provides a central reference of death row prisoners' web
pages, or information on the net about their specific cases. See: http://w1.480.telia.com/
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A home page listing many links to reports, agencies, statistical data, etc. is at: http://sun.soci.niu.edu/
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Personal stories:
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Walkalone is a unique web site. The webmaster has "...written
to a few death row inmates, some who claim their innocence and some
who admit to guilt, in hopes that they will contribute to a blog --
a simple record of what life is like for these men, what they face
on a day-to-day basis and what they hope to achieve before it’s too
late." See:
http://walkalones.blogspot.com/
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Travis Runnels is 35 years-of-age and is sitting on death row in
Texas. He maintains a blog in English and French at:
http://deathrow.blog.20minutes.fr/
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Anti-death penalty resources: |
The Moratorium Campaign promotes
a petition against the death penalty which calls for a temporary cessation of executions. See:
http://www.moratorium2000.org/They have a list of death penalty hyperlinks at: http://www.moratorium2000.org/
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 The American Civil Liberties Union is mounting an anti-death penalty campaign. They are calling on a
moratorium on future executions. They write: "Right now, more than 3,500 inmates sit on Death Row in America. Almost all are poor, and a wildly disproportionate number are people of color. In addition,
most had legal representation that ranged from inadequate to grossly incompetent."
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 Anti Death Penalty website maintains a list of upcoming executions scheduled at: http://www.antideathpenalty.org/ They also have many essays on related topics, book lists, statistics, history, quotes, etc. They also maintain a list of other websites opposed to the death penalty at: http://www.antideathpenalty.org/
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Catholics Against Capital Punishment is a "national advocacy organization working
for the abolition of the death penalty in the U.S." See: http://www.igc.org/
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Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VDAP) is
at: http://www.vadp.org/
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Amnesty International USA commits much of their effort to
oppose the death penalty. See: http://www.amnestyusa.org/
They have three publications on-line:
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The Natural Law Party opposes the death penalty and feels that the public would
agree if better programs aimed at crime prevention, prison rehabilitation, and prisoner
assessment were implemented. See:
http://www.natural-law.org/
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The Mennonite Central Committee in the U.S. has an essay on
"state killing." See:
http://www.mcc.org/us/
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The Death Penalty Information Center deals in depth with innocent people being
sentenced to death. See:
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
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"Dismantling the Death Penalty" has many links at
http://www.theotherside.org/ and biblical
passages on the death penalty at:
http://www.theotherside.org/
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"Statement on Capital Punishment," Christian Council of
Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore at:
http://www.nccbuscc.org
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Pro-death penalty resources: | |
Web site in favor of limited executions:
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Attorney James Lynch, Jr., suggests that the death penalty is
acceptable in the case of murder, only if the "defendant has the
requisite culpability, and the State cannot, beyond a reasonable
doubt, effective control defendant's behavior by mere incarceration."
See:
http://users.cwnet.com/
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Books and stuff:
We particularly recommend the following books. Most cost between $7 and $11:
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Sr. Helen Prejean, "Dead man walking: An
eyewitness account of the death penalty in the United States,"
Vintage Books (1996)
Washington Post Book
World describes the book as: "An immensely moving
affirmation of the power of religious vocation...Stunning moral
clarity...a profound argument against capital punishment." You
can read reviews and/or safely order it from the online Amazon.com
bookstore.
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Mark Constanzo, "Just Revenge: Costs and
Consequences of the Death Penalty," St. Martin's Press, (1998) Professor
William J.Bowers, from Northeastern University comments: "If you want an
insightful, empirically grounded weighing of the pros and cons of the death penalty, this
book is the best place I know to find it." You
can read reviews/order it.
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Lathleen O"Shea, "Women on the
row: Rd\eflections from both sides of the bars," Firebrand Books,
(2000). "...a slim but shattering volume of reflections by women,
some but not all of whom claim to be innocent, describing their lives
before and since being placed on death row." You
can read reviews/order it.
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Gardner C. Hanks, "Against the Death Penalty:
Christian and Secular Arguments Against Capital Punishment," Herald Press,
(1997) Synopsis: "Drawing on Old and New Testament resources as well as
secular arguments, Gardner C. Hanks shows that the death penalty harms rather than helps
any quest for a just, humane society." You can order it from Amazon.com
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James J. Megivern, "The Death Penalty: an Historical
and Theological Survey," Herald Press, (1997) Synopsis: "...A
history of theological, philosophical, legal and popular arguments about the viability of
capital punishment. The book shows how capital punishment has been ineffective and thus
implicitly argues for its elimination." You can order it from Amazon.com
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Hugo A Bedau, Editor, "The Death Penalty in America:
Current Controversies," Oxford University (1997) Synopsis: "The most
comprehensive reference book available on the subject presents original essays offering
extensive information on the issues, Supreme Court rulings, and practices involving the
death penalty, from a wide range of perspectives." You can order it from Amazon.com
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Gail B Stewart, "The Death Penalty"
(Opposing Viewpoints Digests), Greenhaven Press, (1998). Synopsis: "Reviews opposing arguments
regarding the death penalty, including whether or not it is just, deters murder, and is
applied fairly." You can order it from Amazon.com
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You can order T-shirts and tank tops with anti-death penalty slogans: "An
eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," and "Why
do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?"
from Virginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, at: http://www.vadp.org/
Copyright © 1995 to 2012 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Originally published: 1995-JUN-8
Hyperlinks checked: 2002-OCT-25
Last updated 2012-JAN-21
Author: Bruce A Robinson
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