THE DEATH PENALTY

VOICES OF THE DEATH PENALTY DEBATE: A CITIZEN’S GUIDE TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Russell G. Murphy examines all of the major issues raised by capital punishment from the unusual perspective of witness testimony at historic hearings in the State of New York on whether that State should re-impose the death penalty.

VOICES covers basic facts and figures, constitutional limits, justifications for the death penalty, costs and the prosecutorial process, racial bias, mental illness, the innocence phenomenon, and international approaches.

The power of the book comes from the 147 witnesses who testified at the New York hearings: prosecutors and defense lawyers, forensic scientists, researchers, religious leaders, politicians, exonerated inmates, ordinary citizens, and more.

COMMON SENSE

Professor Murphy is publishing a new writing, COMMON SENSE: WHY JUSTICE REQUIRES ELIMINATING THE DEATH PENALTY FROM THE CRIMINAL LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES. This work, in the historic form of a pamphlet, makes the case for abolishing capital punishment in America.

As advocacy, the pamphlet provides historical background and facts and figures on the death penalty in the US, describes the constitutional legal structure that applies to “cruel and unusual punishments” under the Eighth Amendment, identifies all of the major criticisms of this sentence, and explains why abolition is critical to having a just system of criminal laws in our country.

Russell G. Murphy

This may not sound like summer beach reading, but I think Murphy's book could have wide appeal. ... His book draws together key selections from the transcripts of the hearings. Voices is not a dry, academic tome laying out the case for or against the death penalty, but rather a series of presentations of facts about capital punishment as it has been practiced around the country, with very personal recollections of victims' families and defendants, and experts on both sides of the issue, speaking in their own voices.... I have to say, as someone who philosophically is supportive of capital punishment, reading Murphy's book gave me some pause.
John W. Farrell, Book Notes: A Citizen's Guide to Death Penalty, Forbes Magazine
Prof. Murphy has put all of this information into a readable and well-organized collection that would be of interest to anyone concerned about the democratic process, the criminal justice system, or the history of the death penalty in the U.S. The book is a case study that would likely be repeated whenever the death penalty is put under the microscope of careful examination.
-Richard C. Dieter
If I were asked, as a librarian, for one book to recommend on the subject of capital punishment, it would be Professor Murphy's Voices. This is a straightforward, unbiased report on the subject based on public hearings in New York State. Professor Murphy has masterfully stitched together the testimony.
-Edward J. Bander
The audience for this book is broader than legal academics or law students. This book should be in every community library as well as used in a variety of university, college, and even advanced high school courses. It is ideally suited for an undergraduate criminal justice course or graduate courses on the death penalty. Journalists, legislators, and informed members of the public will find this book to be a dispassionate source book for understanding the death penalty policy's justifications and implications.
-Thomas H. Koenig

Voices of The Death Penalty

by: Russell G. Murphy