The Death of the American Death Penalty: States Still Leading the Way

“[Koch, Wark, and Galliher] are committed to the goal of abolishing the death penalty; nevertheless, they strive to follow the canons of academic work in presenting their findings. Their conclusion: the death penalty, slowly, incrementally, but inexorably, is marching to its own scaffold.” —Choice

“Support for capital punishment in this country, as measured by the laws authorizing it, prosecutors’ enthusiasm for seeking it, jury verdicts that dispatch it, and executioners’ final deliverance, has eroded rapidly in recent years. A decade after the publication of its predecessor and carrying on in that volume’s fine tradition, The Death of the American Death Penalty provides detailed explanations–the where, how, and why–of these dramatic developments in death penalty laws and practices. Looking forward, it offers a provocative portrait of a nation poised inexorably on the precipice of interring capital punishment.”–James R. Acker, Distinguished Teaching Professor, School of Criminal Justice, University at Albany

LARRY W. KOCH is an associate professor of sociology at the University of Michigan, Flint. COLIN WARK is an assistant professor of psychology and sociology at Texas A&M University, Kingsville. JOHN F. GALLIHER is a professor of sociology at University of Missouri, Columbia.