Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-210) and index.

Is capital punishment ethical? Yes, capital punishment is ethical : When a loved one is murdered, the death penalty seems moral / Olga Polites -- Death by lethal injection is not cruel and unusual punishment / Cal Thomas -- Juvenile executions should be ruled constitutional / Robert H. Bork -- Capital punishment is moral to prevent the taking of innocent lives / Cass R. Sunstein and Adrian Vermeule -- No, capital punishment is not ethical : Capital punishment is simply murder / Gary Egeberg -- Death by lethal injection is inhumane / Deborah W. Denno -- Putting juvenile murderers to death is wrong / Craig M. Bradley -- Physicians have an ethical responsibility not to participate in executions / Peter A. Clark -- Is capital punishment administered fairly? Yes, capital punishment is administered fairly : The chance of executing an innocent person is very slight / Richard A. Posner -- Capital punishment is administered fairly / Joshua Marquis -- Death row reforms may lead to a fairer criminal justice system / Jean M. Templeton -- No, capital punishment is not administered fairly : Wrongful convictions involving prisoners are too common / C. Ronald Huff -- The death penalty is not applied equally to both sexes / Victor L. Streib -- Scientific evidence does not ensure guilt in death penalty cases / Sheila Jasanoff -- The evidence of innocence is often withheld in death penalty cases / Dale S. Recinella.

Is capital punishment an effective deterrent to crime? Yes, capital punishment is an effective deterrent to crime : Capital punishment does in fact deter crime / Joanna M. Shepherd -- Homicidal violence in Great Britain has increased since the abolition of the death penalty / Theodore Dalrymple -- Hanging Saddam Hussein will deter future chaos in Iraq / Patrick Poole -- No, capital punishment is not an effective deterrent to crime : Studeis cannot "prove" capital punishment deters crime / Clive Stafford Smith -- Capital punishment is ineffective and dangerous / Michael Cohen -- Deterrence studies are inconsistent and unscientific / Jeffrey Fagan -- Should capital punishment be abolished or reformed? Executions should be televised to spur debate about capital punishment / Howard Rosenberg -- Capital punishment is a failed experiment and should be abolished / Anna Quindlen -- Feminists should advocated to abolish capital punishment / Laura Huey -- Saddam Hussein should not have been hanged / Richard Dawkins -- Public and state support for the death penalty is declining / Dahlia Lithwick.

Gives the pros and cons of capital punishment, the ethical question, and if it's a deterrent to crime.