Methods of execution

Methods of Execution - click on each method for an in-depth, historical look at the method.
Methods of Execution - lists states by method and offers links to explanations of each method.
Which states retain the death penalty? - methods given for each state.
HowStuffWorks: How Lethal Injection Works - illustrated article showing the complete lethal injection procedure.

Appeals Process

Court Cases

Focus on the Death Penalty: History & Recent Development - provides history, important Supreme Court Decisions, and recent cases.
Recent Legal History of the Death Penalty in America - overview with recent court cases and links.
History of the Death Penalty - covers early laws to current issues and topics.

Laws

Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty - listing of states and those crimes punishable by death.
Death Penalty: State Summaries - provides history, current methods of execution, and recent news.

Statistics

Focus on the Death Penalty: Death Penalty Statistics - listing of sites where you can find current statistics.
Death Penalty Information Center - award-winning site providing information on all aspects of the death penalty issue.

Interested Parties

Debate Topics: Death Penalty - information on both sides of the issue with views from various groups.
Focus on the Death Penalty: The Debate - views from law enforcement and the religious perspective.
Social Issues: Death Penalty - includes multiple perspectives.
Capital Punishment, the Death Penalty - links from varied religious perspectives.
Death Penalty: Organizations - links to organizations for and against the death penalty. 

Executions of the Mentally Retarded

Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty - information and recent news from the Death Penalty Information Center; be sure to read summaries of the states' criteria for establishing and defining mental retardation.
Why Mental Retardation Is Mitigating - article from The Champion, a publication of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
U.S. Execution of Mentally Retarded Condemned - article from Human Rights Watch with links to related material including their 2001 report Beyond Reason: The Death Penalty and Offenders with Mental Retardation.

Executions of Juveniles

Moratorium on the Death Penalty for Juveniles - current statutes provides minimum age by state.
Juveniles - offers links to pro and con articles.
The Juvenile Death Penalty Today: Death Sentences and Executions for Juvenile Crimes, January 1, 1973-December 31, 2000 - statistical look at juveniles who have been executed.
Minimum Death Penalty Ages by American Jurisdiction - textual information and chart.
Can Violent Criminals Be Too Young To Execute? -article from SpeakOut.com
Juvenile Offenders - executions of juveniles in the US since 1976; includes race, state, age at crime, age at execution.
Executions of Juvenile Offenders - historical background, list of juveniles executed by name, race, state, age at crime/execution plus recent developments in the news and list of international juvenile executions.
Attitudes Toward the Treatment of Juveniles Who Commit Violent Crimes - by demographic characteristics, United States 2000

DNA Testing

National Commission of the Future of DNA Evidence - offers background of the issues; do not miss the Publications link.
Death Penalty & DNA - from StateAction.org; with links to Model Legislation.
FBI Laboratory: DNA Analysis - overview of what is analyzed and techniques used; for more in-depth information, click on DNA Examinations.
An Interview With DNA Forensics Authority Dr. Bruce Weir - January 1995 interview discusses DNA forensics techniques and their role in law enforcement.
DNA Learning Center: About DNA Fingerprinting - discusses the science behind DNA fingerprinting technology and its use inside the courtroom.
Frontline: Frequently Asked Questions - a look at DNA in evidence and misconceptions.

Legal Representation

Protecting the Innocent: Ensuring Competent Counsel in Death Penalty Cases -prepared statements of legislators and witnesses in the Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, June 27, 2001.
Death Penalty: Uncertain Justice - a special report from Seattle P-I; be sure to click on the links that apply--there are data and graphs within the articles.
A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases 1973-1995 - comprehensive study on error rates in death penalty appeals.
Liebman Study: Analysis 19 - a look at what the traits are of the particular cases in which death verdicts are approved or reversed.
The Justice Project: Studies and Testimony - a look at the effects of "bad lawyering."
        Counsel for the Poor: The Death Sentence Not for the Worst Crime but for the Worst Lawyer 
        Neither Equal Nor Just: The Rationing and Denial of Legal Services to the Poor When Life and Liberty Are at Stake
Fight the Death Penalty in the USA: Ineffective Defense Counsel - examples of ineffective counsel.
Some Lawyers Render Ineffective Assistance in Death Cases - a look at the problem in California.

Clemency Process

Clemency - overview from ACLU.
Facts About Clemency - provides link to clemency process by state.
Death Row Dilemma - a look at the clemency process in Texas.

General Death Penalty Links

1000+ Death Penalty Links  - extensive list of links compiled by the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office; covers all sides and all parts of the issue.
Death Penalty Information Center - award-winning site providing information on all aspects of the death penalty issue.
Death Penalty: State Summaries - provides history, current methods of execution, and recent news.
Table of State Comparisons - statistics for death row inmates and executions by state.
State by State Info - click on the state to find out its method of execution, status re: mentally retarded, minimum age (juveniles), clemency process, and listing of capital offenses.
Crimes Punishable by the Death Penalty - listed by state.
The Death Penalty in the United States - a look at the death penalty process and how it differs from the United Kingdom.
Equal Justice USA - anti-death penalty site from Quixote Center; provides breaking news state-by-state.
Ethics Update: Death Penalty - selected internet resources on capital punishment, including court decisions, legislation, statistical information.
Capital Punishment Statistics - statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice  Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Pro-Death Penalty.com - award-winning site developed as a resource for those searching the internet for pro-death penalty information and resources.
Capital Punishment: The Death Penalty in North America - facts about the death penalty, pros, cons. religious factors, alternatives, current news items, recent developments, and more compiled by Religious Tolerance.org.
ACLU Death Penalty Campaign - anti-death penalty site by the American Civil Liberties Union.
CUADP: For Alternatives to the Death Penalty - works to end the death penalty in the  United States through aggressive campaigns of public education and the promotion of tactical grassroots activism.
Amnesty International: Death Penalty - site maintained by Amnesty International to end the death penalty.
Economics of the Death Penalty - a research review of data and references for further research.
Human Rights: Death Penalty - links to facts, laws, and opposing views.
Focus on the Death Penalty - established by the Justice Center at University of Alaska Anchorage as an educational resource to give as full a picture as possible, using existing Internet resources, of the complex issues surrounding capital punishment and its application.
The Death Penalty - site designed to assist both teachers and students in an exploration of capital punishment, presenting arguments for and against its use, as well as issues of ethics and justice that surround it.
Speak Out: Death Penalty - daily news briefings on the death penalty along with links to other sites and resources.
Death Penalty - links compiled by Santa Fe Community College offering views on both sides of the debate.
A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995 - Liebman Study provides and in-depth look at the system overall and state-by-state; from The Justice Project.

Return to Irondequoit High School Library Media Center
Updated 4/03