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.

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