| Contents |
The exemplary execution -- A peculiar institution -- The American way of death -- Historical modes of capital punishment -- The death penalty's decline -- Processes of transformation -- State and society in America -- Capital punishment in America -- An American abolition -- New political and cultural meanings -- Reinventing the death penalty -- Death and its uses -- Discourse and death. |
| Abstract |
Describes the explains the institution of capital punishment in the United States, and discusses its relationship to American society. Taking us inside the world of capital punishment, this book presents a picture of America's peculiar institution, its cultural meaning and symbolic force for supporters and abolitionists. Shattering current stereotypes, the book forces us to rethink our understanding of the politics of punishment in America and beyond. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (p. [315]-393) and index. |
| LCCN | 2010019967 |
| ISBN | 9780674057234 (alk. paper) |
| ISBN | 0674057236 (alk. paper) |
