The American Bar Association recent­ly pub­lished The State of Criminal Justice 2010, an annu­al report that exam­ines major issues, trends and sig­nif­i­cant changes in America’s crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem. This pub­li­ca­tion serves as a valu­able resource for aca­d­e­mics, stu­dents, and pol­i­cy-makes in the area of crim­i­nal jus­tice, and con­tains 19 chap­ters focus­ing on spe­cif­ic areas of the crim­i­nal jus­tice field. The chap­ter devot­ed to cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment was writ­ten by Ronald Tabak, spe­cial coun­sel and pro bono coor­di­na­tor at Skadden Arps. Tabak explores leg­isla­tive changes in the states, the decline in the use of the death penal­ty, impor­tant Supreme Court deci­sions, and oth­er issues such as the ade­qua­cy of rep­re­sen­ta­tion in cap­i­tal cas­es. In con­clud­ing, he writes, ​“Ultimately, our soci­ety must decide whether to con­tin­ue with a sys­tem that has been found in study after study to be far more expen­sive than the actu­al alter­na­tive – in which life with­out parole is the most seri­ous pun­ish­ment. The ques­tion has become sub­stan­tial­ly more impor­tant giv­en the severe eco­nom­ic down­turn in 2008-10. In view of the lack of per­sua­sive evi­dence of soci­etal ben­e­fits from cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, this is one inef­fec­tu­al, waste­ful gov­ern­ment pro­gram whose elim­i­na­tion deserves serious consideration.”

(“The State of Criminal Justice 2010,” American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section, April 19, 2010). The pub­li­ca­tion can be pre-ordered at this link. Click here for Studies on the death penalty.

Citation Guide