Essays offer a new challenge to the death penalty's legitimacy, in light of new empirical research and case studies, and against the backdrop of international law and recent changes in US domestic law.

It looks at what goes through the minds of jurors asked to consider imposing the death penalty, how qualified they are to make such an important decision, and how well they understand the judge's instructions. Contributors also investigate the risk of executing the innocent, the role that race plays in determining which defendants are sentenced to death, and the effect of expanded restrictions on access to federal appellate relief. The postscript contemplates the peculiarities of our contemporary system of capital punishment, including the alarming variance in execution rates from state to state. Filled with current insights and analysis, Beyond Repair? will provide valuable information to attorneys, political scientists, criminologists, and all those wanting to participate knowledgeably in the debates about the death penalty in America. Contributors. Ken Armstrong, John H. Blume, Theodore Eisenberg, Phoebe C. Ellsworth, Stephen P. Garvey, Samuel R. Gross, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Steve Mills, William A. Schabas, Larry W. Yackle, Franklin E. Zimring

Introduction Stephen P. GarveySecond Thoughts: America's Views on the Death Penalty at the Turn of the Century Samuel R.Gross and Phoebe C.EllsworthCapital Punishment, Federal Courts, and the Writ of Habeas Corpus Larry W. Yackle"Until I Can Be Sure" - How the Threat of Executing the Innocent has Transformed the Death Penalty Debate Ken Armstrong and Steve MillsRace and Capital Punishment Sheri Lynn JohnsonLessons from the Capital Jury Project John H.Blume, Theodore Eisenberg and Stephen P.GarveyInternational Law and the Abolition of the Death Penalty William A. SchabasPostscript - The Peculiar Present of American Capital Punishment Franklin E.ZimringBibliographies