Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2017 -

Departing from the existing literature on capital punishment in the US and its effect on society, historian LaChance (Emory Univ.), examines the place of the death penalty in American culture. His unique interdisciplinary approach uses history, law, sociology, and politics to show how shifting attitudes on capital punishment have caused shifting attitudes on culture in the US. The author provides historical and legal foundations for the morality (or immorality) of capital punishment. Six chapters grouped in three parts--retribution, executions, the killing state--help readers understand how changes in US culture have been impacted by the debate on the death penalty, and vice versa. The bulk of the book examines how the historical use of the death penalty has been a tool to advance white supremacy, sexism, and authoritarianism. LaChance contends that the disproportionate administration of the death penalty has created a society where retribution is at the forefront of the discussion, which means punishment becomes a discussion about death and not life. The author concludes with deliberate, reflective, and detailed examples of how the cultural discussion of capital punishment is simply not about freedom. An important book best suited for anyone generally interested in issues related to capital punishment, history of retribution, and the role of legal culture in the death penalty.Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries.