BOOKS: Early Supreme Court Cases on the Death Penalty

A new book by Professor Robert Bohm of the University of Central Florida looks at death-penalty decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court prior to the modern era of capital punishment that began in 1968. In The Past As Prologue, Bohm examines 39 Court decisions, covering issues such as clemency, jury selection, coerced confessions, and effective representation. These early decisions have shaped modern rulings on capital punishment, and the book provides an analysis of these effects. In addition, the cases provide an historical perspective on prior death penalty practices. Bohm is a Professor of Criminal Justice and has published widely in this field and on capital punishment.

(R. Bohm, “The Past As Prologue: The Supreme Court’s Pre-Modern Death Penalty Jurisprudence and Its Influence on the Supreme Court’s Modern Death Penalty Decisions,” Carolina Academic Press (2012); posted October 18, 2012). See Books on the death penalty and U.S. Supreme Court.