Covering micro-issues of legal doctrine and administrative practice, as well as arguments for and against abolition, this book draws upon Continental theory and the Anglo-American jurisprudential tradition in order to deliver a critical survey of both the theoretical aspects of capital punishment and its actual administration.

Adam Thurshwell, a respected academic and death penalty lawyer, draws upon Continental theory and the Anglo-American jurisprudential tradition in order to deliver a critical survey of both the theoretical aspects of capital punishment and its actual administration. Pursuing an original political approach rather than taking a moral stance, his discussion compares the topics of sovereignty, power and legitimacy with moral desert or consequentialism and explores their impact on perceptions and practices of capital punishment. Covering micro-issues of legal doctrine and administrative practice, as well as arguments for and against abolition, this book is an invaluable resource for academics and students in law and political theory.

Chapter 1: Capital Punishment Today

Chapter 2: Current Jurisprudential Approaches to Capital Punishment: A Critique

Chapter 3: Political Sovereignty and the Death Penalty

Chapter 4: The Ethics of Capital Punishment

Chapter 5: Conclusion -- Implications, Consequences and Potential Futures