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Annotated Bibliography

Barner, J. R. (2013). Life or death decision making: Qualitative analysis of

death penalty jurors. Qualitative Social Work, 1473325013507304.

Through interviews with previous jurors on capital cases, the author

explains the confusion and misunderstandings surrounding the law, the
legal procedure, and the responsibilities of jury members. Many jurors
felt baffled by the entire process and did not receive any answers or
clarifications from judges, likely to avoid biasing the jury. In some
cases, anger and impatience swayed a vote more than beyond an
unreasonable doubt. Instead of representing individual opinions, the
jury is said to be a group phenomenon, moving the process away
from its intended effect. This article, intended for forensic social
workers, gives an unexpected perspective that the issue would be
incomplete without.

Burgason, K. A., & Pazzani, L. (2014). The death penalty: A multi-level

analysis of public opinion. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(4),
818-838.

This article takes a statistical look into popular opinion of capital

punishment, expanding upon the existing literatures dichotomous

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perspective of for and against. Using factors from an individual

basis as well as a situational basis, researchers analyze multiple
regression data from hypothetical situations and find trends of an
interactional nature. When controlling for situational factors, no
individual factors reached statistical significance for affecting the death
penalty decision. However, when taken together, patterns emerge,
some echoing past studies, while some opposing the established
literature. This study is important in contextualizing the origin of public
opinion about the death penalty as well as the variety of situational
factors that go into every decision, regardless of individual factors.

Cohen, A. (2014, May 5). The problems with the death penalty are already
crystal clear. The Atlantic. Retrieved from
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/we-already-knowwhats-wrong-with-the-death-penalty/361635/

The author concisely reviews some of the current issues and possible
governmental solutions concerning the current state of the death
penalty in the U.S. Using links, the author cites various relevant
statistics of death row inmates, interviews with government officials,
recent news stories of botched executions, and legal hurdles
surrounding the debate. The Atlantic is a highly reputable magazine
concerned with domestic and foreign affairs. The article is aimed at

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those who want a brief overview of the issue, with an ingrained

assumption that the death penalty is flawed and without any
discussion of abolishing it. This resource is representative of the
general state of information among the public who is interested in the
issue.

Cooke, B. K., Delalot, D., & Werner, T. L. (2015). Hall v. Florida: Capital
punishment, IQ, and persons with intellectual disabilities. Journal of the
American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online, 43(2), 230-234.

The author describes a 2014 capital punishment case from Florida

involving a man who claimed intellectual disability prevented him from
being eligible for the death penalty. Florida Supreme Court debate and
ruling are discussed, covering the new interpretation of the intellectual
disability status; alongside an IQ below 70, a comprehensive
assessment of the defendants adaptive functioning is required in order
to achieve a broader sense of the relevancy of the death penalty as a
punishment, i.e. its effectiveness as a form of rehabilitation,
deterrence, and/or retribution. The article, intended mainly for forensic
psychiatrists, explores a niche of the capital punishment issue that is
not often seen in practice, yet has applications beyond the single case.

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LaChappelle, L. (2014). Capital punishment in the era of globalization: A

partial test of the marshall hypothesis among college students.
American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(4), 839-854.

The author summarizes the literatures extensive review of the

Marshall hypothesis, identifying the factors already investigated and
those yet to be tested. Through comparing the United States
sanctioned death penalty practices to those of the rest of the world,
the author observes an undeniable impact of international context,
reducing support for the death penalty in nearly every participant. The
article informs an interesting, complex, and proven area of the death
penalty debate.

Phillips, S., & Cooney, M. (2015). The electronic pillory: Social time and
hostility toward capital murderers. Law & Society Review, 49(3), 725759.

Reggio, M. H., (2014). History of the Death Penalty. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/execution/readings/hist
ory.html

States With and Without the Death Penalty. (2015, July 1). Retrieved from
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and-without-death-penalty

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Tomsich, E. A., Richards, T. N., & Gover, A. R. (2014). A review of sex

disparities in the key players of the capital punishment process: From
defendants to jurors. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(4), 732752.

The author investigates the current status of research concerning the

sex of various death penalty case roles as an extralegal factor
influencing capital punishment outcomes and uses theoretical
frameworks, such as sexism and chivalry, to explain possible causes.
While race/ethnicity is a more broadly studied topic in the field, the
sex effect is clear and deserves more attention. This article utilizes a
larger scope in order to provide distinct evidence that capital
punishment is affected by more than just legal standards.

Tyner, J. A., & Colucci, A. (2015). Bare life, dead labor, and capital (ist)
punishment. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies,
14(4), 1083-1099.