Capital Punishment Research Paper

BACKGROUND

Legal in a majority of states, capital punishment continues to be fiercely debated. At issue are its effects on criminals, victims, the justice system, and society as a whole. Does the threat of capital punishment deter crime? Can we justify the fact that sometimes innocent people are put to death?

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

364.66–364.73

174.24

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Capital punishment

Capital punishment—United States

USE PAMPHLET FILE (ALSO CALLED VERTICAL FILE) UNDER THE HEADING

Capital punishment

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

CQ Researcher, March 10, 1995.

Editorial Research Reports, July 13, 1990.

Kastenbaum, Robert, and Beatrice Kastenbaum, eds. Encyclopedia of Death, 1993.

Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment: A Reference Handbook, 1993.

Patrick, John J. The Young Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the

United States, 1994.

General encyclopedias

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

America Online

CompuServe

Dialog

Internet

Prodigy

KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Capital punishment

Death penalty

Death row

Executions

Executions and executioners

Hanging

Electric chair

VIDEOTAPES ON THIS TOPIC

Death Penalty. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, 1988.

The Next Step. Amnesty International, 1989.

FICTION BOOKS RELATING TO TOPIC

Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood, 1965. (adult)

Gaines, Ernest. A Lesson before Dying, 1993. (adult)

Mailer, Norman. Executioner’s Song, 1979. (adult)

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

American Civil Liberties Union, Capital Punishment Project, 122 Maryland Ave., N.E., Washington, DC 20002.

Death Penalty Information Center, 1606 20th St., 2nd Fl., Washington, DC 20009.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 1325 G St., N.W., Washington, DC 20005.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Discuss the moral and ethical aspects of the death penalty issue.

Investigate teens and the death penalty.

Is capital punishment a deterrent to crime?

Should executions be televised?

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Alternatives to capital punishment

Death row and the right to legal representation

Prison reform

Prisoner rehabilitation

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.