Death Penalty Developments

In the state of California, Presidential election night 2012 was also about crime and punishment. You may be aware that California voters approved Proposition 36, to revise that state's well known "Three Strikes" law [California Penal Code Sec. 667] to no longer apply a life sentence for a third (even non-violent) felony conviction after two previous convictions for violent felonies. Under the revised law, those convicted of a third felony, unless the third felony itself was a violent or serious one, will serve twice the minimum sentence for the third felony and not receive a life sentence.

At the same time, a majority in California also voted to retain that state's death penalty on Tuesday. Proposition 34, which would have replaced the death penalty with sentences of life without parole, went down to defeat. The death penalty, and its economic, social, and policy implications, will remain a "hot topic" issue for legal scholars, attorneys, and law students.  A good starting point for background and all types of resources on the death penalty is the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).  This nonpartisan organization provides news and current developments, reports, maps, statistics, surveys, links to academic articles, coverage of the history of the death penalty with bibliographic references for research papers and projects, and analysis of specific death penalty issues, such as clemency or juveniles.  

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat