PPOL4312 - Death Penalty, the Law and Public Policy

PPOL 4312 Death Penalty, the Law and Public Policy (3 semester credit hours) This course introduces the student to major topics surrounding the application of capital punishment in the United States. It offers a historical perspective of the evolution of capital punishment, explores the salient case law which established legal precedents related to methods, constitutionality and its application to special offender groups, reviews empirical literature and methods that have investigated the efficacy of the punishment, and examines the controversies of public policies which have existed in support of the death penalty from its inception through present day. (3-0) R