American Roulette: The Social Logic of Death Penalty Sentencing Trials - Couverture souple

Kaufman, Sarah Beth

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0520344391 ISBN 13 : 9780520344396

Editeur : University of California Press, 2020

Synopsis

As the death penalty clings to life in many states and dies off in others, this first-of-its-kind ethnography takes readers inside capital trials across the United States. Sarah Beth Kaufman draws on years of ethnographic and documentary research, including hundreds of hours of courtroom observation in seven states, interviews with participants, and analyses of newspaper coverage to reveal how the American justice system decides who deserves the most extreme punishment. The "super due process" accorded capital sentencing by the United States Supreme Court is the system's best attempt at individuated sentencing. Resources not seen in most other parts of the criminal justice system, such as jurors and psychological experts, are required in capital trials, yet even these cannot create the conditions of morality or justice. Kaufman demonstrates that capital trials ultimately depend on performance and politics, resulting in the enactment of deep biases and utter capriciousness. American Roulette contends that the liberal, democratic ideals of criminal punishment cannot be enacted in the current criminal justice system, even under the most controlled circumstances.

A propos du livre

À propos de l'auteur

Sarah Beth Kaufman is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: University of California Press
• Date d'édition: 2020
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0520344391
• ISBN 13: 9780520344396
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 259
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible