Free Downloads
Against The Death Penalty

A landmark dissenting opinion arguing against the death penalty.Does the death penalty violate the Constitution? In Against the Death Penalty, Justice Stephen Breyer argues that it does; that it is carried out unfairly and inconsistently and, thus, violates the ban on "cruel and unusual punishments" specified by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.“Today’s administration of the death penalty,” Breyer writes, “involves three fundamental constitutional defects: (1) serious unreliability, (2) arbitrariness in application, and (3) unconscionably long delays that undermine the death penalty’s penological purpose. Perhaps as a result, (4) most places within the United States have abandoned its use.”This volume contains Breyer's dissent in the case of Glossip v. Gross, which involved an unsuccessful challenge to Oklahoma's use of a lethal-injection drug because it might cause severe pain. Justice Breyer's legal citations have been edited to make them understandable to a general audience, but the text retains the full force of his powerful argument that the time has come for the Supreme Court to revisit the constitutionality of the death penalty.Breyer was joined in his dissent from the bench by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Their passionate argument has been cited by many legal experts including fellow Justice Antonin Scalia—as signaling an eventual Court ruling striking down the death penalty. A similar dissent in 1963 by Breyer's mentor, Justice Arthur J. Goldberg, helped set the stage for a later ruling, imposing what turned out to be a four-year moratorium on executions.

Hardcover: 176 pages

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press (August 23, 2016)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0815728891

ISBN-13: 978-0815728894

Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches

Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item

Best Sellers Rank: #86,358 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #32 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > United States > Judicial Branch #56 in Books > Law > Constitutional Law > Human Rights #72 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Political Science > Constitutions

Against the Death Penalty The Death Penalty, Volume I (The Seminars of Jacques Derrida) Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate Ultimate Punishment: A Lawyer's Reflections on Dealing with the Death Penalty J. D. Robb CD Collection 2: Rapture in Death, Ceremony in Death, Vengeance in Death (In Death Series) 10 LB. Penalty (UNABRIDGED) [CD] [AUDIOBOOK] 10-lb Penalty: Complete & Unabridged Penalty Shot (Matt Christopher Sports Classics) Story of a Death Foretold: The Coup against Salvador Allende, 11 September 1973 Death Punch'd: Surviving Five Finger Death Punch's Metal Mayhem Apprentice in Death: In Death Series, Book 43 Seduction in Death: In Death, Book 13 Kindred in Death: In Death, Book 29 Brotherhood in Death: In Death Series, Book 42 Devoted in Death: In Death, Book 41 Portrait in Death: In Death, book 16 Japanese Death Poems: Written by Zen Monks and Haiku Poets on the Verge of Death Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death Death Valley Trivia: The Most Incredible, Unbelievable, Wild, Weird, Fun, Fascinating, and True Facts About Death Valley! Ethnic Variations in Dying, Death and Grief: Diversity in Universality (Death Education, Aging and Health Care)