Synopses & Reviews
At the start of the twenty-first century, America is in the midst of a profound national reconsideration of the death penalty. There has been a dramatic decline in the number of people being sentenced to death as well as executed, exonerations have become common, and the number of states abolishing the death penalty is on the rise. The essays featured in
The Road to Abolition? track this shift in attitudes toward capital punishment, and consider whether or not the death penalty will ever be abolished in America.
The interdisciplinary group of experts gathered by Charles J. Ogletree Jr., and Austin Sarat ask and attempt to answer the hard questions that need to be addressed if the death penalty is to be abolished. Will the death penalty end only to be replaced with life in prison without parole? Will life without the possibility of parole become, in essence, the new death penalty? For abolitionists, might that be a pyrrhic victory? The contributors discuss how the death penalty might be abolished, with particular emphasis on the current debate over lethal injection as a case study on why and how the elimination of certain forms of execution might provide a model for the larger abolition of the death penalty.
Review
“A thoughtful discussion that is timely, well written, and deeply relevant to current public policy and law.”
-Library Journal,
Review
“In this era of national rethinking of the death penalty,
The Road to Abolition? makes a singular contribution. From start to finish this is a compelling book. Bringing together a series of insightful essays by distinguished scholars, Ogletree and Sarat help us take stock of the progress weve made and what remains to be done to end capital punishment. For death penalty scholars as well as activists and policy makers this is a must read.”
- Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, author of Dead Man Walking
Review
"The essays, organized into three sections, are as compelling in their analyses as those in the first two collections." "Highly recommended."
“In this era of national rethinking of the death penalty, The Road to Abolition? makes a singular contribution. From start to finish this is a compelling book. Bringing together a series of insightful essays by distinguished scholars, Ogletree and Sarat help us take stock of the progress we’ve made and what remains to be done to end capital punishment. For death penalty scholars as well as activists and policy makers this is a must read.”
“The Road to Abolition? may well become a history of the future, bringing together an impressive group of scholars who analyze the myriad social, legal, and political conditions that suggest that the end of the death penalty in America may be near. This collection of essays is provocative, creative, and deeply insightful, linking the problem of capital punishment to a series of larger debates of our time. It is a must read for anyone interested in the death penalty’s past, present, and future in the United States.”
“This timely book should be read by anyone who has a personal or professional interest in capital punishment. The chapters in this volume vividly capture both the current state and the future of the abolition movement in the United States.”
“A thoughtful discussion that is timely, well written, and deeply relevant to current public policy and law.”
Review
"Both of the authors bring great depth of knowledge in the history of political thought to the writing of this book."-Rex Martin,author of A System of Rights
Review
"Illustrates the authors' obvious knowledge of a wide range of political thought, from the ancient to the contemporary."-Iain Mackenzie,author of Political Ideologies
Review
“The Road to Abolition? may well become a history of the future, bringing together an impressive group of scholars who analyze the myriad social, legal, and political conditions that suggest that the end of the death penalty in America may be near. This collection of essays is provocative, creative, and deeply insightful, linking the problem of capital punishment to a series of larger debates of our time. It is a must read for anyone interested in the death penaltys past, present, and future in the United States.”
-Mona Lynch,author of Sunbelt Justice: Arizona and the Transformation of American Punishment
Review
“This timely book should be read by anyone who has a personal or professional interest in capital punishment. The chapters in this volume vividly capture both the current state and the future of the abolition movement in the United States.”
-John Blume,Professor of Law, Director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project, Cornell Law School
Synopsis
An Introduction to Political Thought emphasizes a dual approach to political theory by providing a chronological overview of both major figures and texts as well as an understanding of the development of key concepts and themes. In this way the authors provide a basic sense of the history and development of political thought and a critical grasp of the theoretical and philosophical issues at the heart of politics.
Beginning with the idea that laws and constitutions are only beneficial insofar as they give effective expression to our moral and political beliefs, the authors argue that moral and political ideas are the foundations of politics. Political philosophers covered in depth include: Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Marx, Bentham, Rawls, and Burke. Key concepts such as the moral order, liberty, human nature, freedom, the social contract, distributive justice, liberalism, socialism, feminism, human rights, and multiculturalism are also all covered. In exploring these issues the authors offer a critical guide through key arguments in the history of political thought and contemporary political theory.
About the Author
Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. is the Jesse Climenko Professor of Law and Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School. Previous collaborations for NYU Press with Austin Sarat include
From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America (2006),
When Law Fails: Making Sense of Miscarraiges of Justice (2009), and
The Road to Abolition? The Future of Capital Punishment in the United States (2010).
Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College. Previous collaborations for NYU Press with Charles J. Ogletree include From Lynch Mobs to the Killing State: Race and the Death Penalty in America (2006), When Law Fails: Making Sense of Miscarraiges of Justice (2009), and The Road to Abolition? The Future of Capital Punishment in the United States (2010).