Book Reviews : Capital Punishment In America by Raymond Paternoster. Lexington Books, 1991. 307 pp. cloth
| Author | Deirdre Golash |
| DOI | 10.1177/088740349100500408 |
| Published date | 01 December 1991 |
| Date | 01 December 1991 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
352
Capital
Punishment
In
America
by
Raymond
Paternoster.
Lexington
Books,
1991.
307
pp.
cloth.
Arguments
against
the
death
penalty
may
proceed
on
legal,
political,
or
moral
grounds.
Paternoster
seeks
to
cover
all
three
fronts.
He
argues
that
the
death
penalty
does
not
meet
the
criteria
of
non-arbitrariness
promulgated
by
the
Supreme
Court;
that
a
lesser
penalty
is
politically
feasible
in
light
of
analysis
of
public
opinion;
that
the
death
penalty
is
not
needed
for
public
protection;
and
that
a
lesser
penalty
can
satisfy
the
requirements
of
moral
desert.
Thus
he
has
chosen
a
narrow
defensive
ground,
eschewing
more
ambitious
arguments
that
might
seek
to
criticize
the
Court’s
legal
analysis
and
propose
an
alternative
standard,
or
to
argue
that
the
death
penalty
is
morally
wrong.
The
author
does
not
seek
to
go
beyond
existing
evidence
or
arguments,
preferring
instead
to
rebut
arguments
against
his
position
through
citation
of
existing
articles.
The
principal
conceptual
problem
faced
by
opponents
of
the
death
penalty
is
that
of
explaining
why
arguments
against
the
death
penalty
do
not
equally
apply
to
other
punishments,
especially
to
those
other
punishments
likely
to
replace
the
death
penalty
in
case
of
its
abolition.
Paternoster
presents
a
plethora
of
evidence
to
show
that
the
death
penalty
is
unfair
and
unnecessary,
effectively
rebutting
the
claims
of
death
penalty
proponents.
He
fails,
however,
to
show
that
the
penalty
he
proposes-life
without
parole
plus
restitution-would
not
be
subject
to
essentially
the
same
set
of
criticisms.
He
first
presents
a
brief
history
of
capital
punishment
in
the
U.S.,
focusing
on
the
frequency
of
imposition
of
the
death
penalty.
The
number
of
executions
gradually
declined
from
a
high
of
150-200
per
year
in
the
1930’s
to
7
in
1965
before
tapering
off
to
zero
in
the
climate
of
legal
uncertainty
that
preceded
the
Supreme
Court’s
1972
decision
holding
a
state
death
penalty
statute
unconstitu-
tional
in
Furman
v.
Georgia.
From
the
1977
reinstatement
of
the
death
penalty
in
Gregg
v.
Georgia
until
1990,
a
total
of
only
140
persons
were
executed,
although
the
number
of
persons
on
death
row
exceeds
2,300.
Popular
support
for
the
death
penalty,
as
indicated
by
Gallup
polls,
is
now
at
an
all-time
high
of
80%,
but
Paternoster
argues,
following
Bedau,
that
this
level
of
support
may
be
illusory.
This
historical
treatment
is
supplemented
by
an
accurate
and
fairly
detailed
summary
of
the
principal
Supreme
Court
cases
on
the
death
penalty
from
its
early
history
to
the
present
day.
The
cases
are
generally
not
analyzed
beyond
their
holdings,
though
attention
is
given
to
dissenting
and
concurring
opinions.
The
Supreme
Court
has
held
that
the
death
penalty
does
not
violate
the
prohibition
on
&dquo;cruel
and
unusual
punishment&dquo;
under
the
eighth
amendment
as
long
as
the
discretion
of
the
sentencer
is
guided
by
statutory
aggravating
and
mitigating
factors;
however,
mandatory
death
sentences,
as
well
as
those
that
rest
entirely
in
the
discretion
of
the
jury,
are
unconstitutional.
The
Court
has
also
addressed
the
constitutionality
of
executing
the
insane,
the
retarded,
juveniles,
and
accomplices
to
murder.
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