BOOKS: New Book Explores Death Penalty Myths

In The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths, professors Rudolph J. Gerber and John M. Johnson explore ten arguments used to support the death penalty and provide readers with current research and studies challenging these arguments. The authors show how “political and community leaders have used myth and emotional appeals to misrepresent the facts about capital executions.” Each chapter begins with a statement in support of the death penalty based on themes such as deterrence, victims and their families, and costs, and then analyzes the original statement, offering research to counter it.

(The Top Ten Death Penalty Myths: The Politics of Crime Control by Rudolph J. Gerber and John M. Johnson (Praeger Publishing 2007)). Prof. Gerber is a former judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals. See also Books.