Mar 28, 2024  
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

CRM 2500 - The Death Penalty

Credits: 4
This course reviews the history of the death penalty in the United States. Among Western democracies, the United States stands alone in its continued use of the death penalty as criminal punishment. This course examines the contemporary death penalty and the controversies surrounding its continued use by focusing on landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions around the constitutionality of the death penalty. Historical and contemporary controversies regarding the administration of the death penalty will be discussed including public opinion; international law and practices; the procedural requirements for capital sentencing trials; the role of the jury in capital cases; methods of execution; retribution and deterrence; wrongful convictions and innocence; the effect of race, gender, and social class on capital sentencing; as well as the execution of juveniles, those with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and the insane.
Prerequisite(s): C- or better in CRM 1000