Vital Issues

1 total work

Capital Punishment

by Ann Chih Lin

Published 1 October 2001

CQ's Vital Issues Series is a new reference collection that provides unparalleled, non-biased analysis of controversial topics debated at the local, state, and federal levels. All sides of an issue are equally covered, and the series delves into gray areas and well-defined positions. The series takes on hot topics that dominate the media, shape election-year politics and confront the American public.

Each Book Includes:
-- A CQ Researcher issue, also published by CQ press, that introduces the subject
-- In-depth explanation of pertinent politics, policy, and political players on federal, state, and local levels
-- An analysis of key for-profit and non-profit business interests
-- Discussion of the international reaction to how the U.S. handles the issue.

The books also feature extensive appendices of key documents such as a chronology, bibliographies, Web sites, encyclopedia articles, primary documents, facts, commentaries, policies, and Supreme Court rulings. A valuable series for high school, community college and university students, as well as public library patrons interested in timely issues. The first three books in the series are Capital Punishment, Welfare Reform, and Immigration.

This book covers an issue that has been increasingly in the news since the late 1980's, when anti-crime and anti-drug legislation saw a flurry of activity. States such as Texas and Arizona have created an international outcry over their executions. Recent widespread media coverage of the reassessment of the fairness of the death penalty has continued to flourish both within and outside the United States borders.