Abstract
Abstract Capital punishment historically has been part of American criminal law from the beginning. There have been intervals in which the United States Supreme Court has declared various state laws on capital punishment to be unconstitutional for various reasons including ‘cruel and unusual punishment'. Many states have rallied to restructure their capital punishment laws in order to meet the constitutional standards noted by the Supreme Court. Some states have placed a moratorium on executing criminals and other states have abolished the death penalty. The United States Supreme Court, in 1976, in five separate opinions, rejected the contention that the death penalty, in and of itself, constituted cruel and unusual punishment (Weiner, 1985). These Supreme Court decisions opened the door for various states to prepare laws meeting the standards established by the court for application of the death penalty in a constitutional manner. Currently 39 states utilize the death penalty, primarily in first degree m...
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