Scope

This Research Guide includes sources dealing with the legal, ethical, and social issues involved in capital punishment.

Overview

Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States
College Library Reference Collection: HV 8694 P35 2001

Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment
College Library Reference Collection: HV 8694 G76 1998

Encyclopedia of Crime and Punishment
College Library Reference Collection: HV 6017 .E524 2002
Refer to "Capital Punishment" in index in Volume 4, page 1804.

Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics
College Library Reference Collection: BJ 63 A66 1998
Refer to "Capital Punishment" in Volume 1, pages 413-421.

Encyclopedia of Bioethics
College Library Reference Collection: QH 332 E52 2004
Refer to "Death Penalty" in Volume 2, pages 625-629

Capital Punishment: a Reference Handbook
College Library Reference Collection: HV 8699 U5 K76 2001

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 1992 (updated daily)
Britannica Online is a searchable collection of authoritative references, including Britannica's latest encyclopedia articles. Basic instructions for Encyclopædia Britannica Online

Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center 1990 - to date (updated daily)
Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (OVRC) includes the acclaimed social issues series published by Greenhaven Press, as well as core reference content from other Gale and Macmillan Reference USA sources and provides viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles.

Finding Journal and News Articles

Below are links to databases that cover this subject area. The truncation symbol for all of them is an asterisk (*) unless otherwise noted.

Sample searches for databases:

capital punishment
capital punishment and DNA
death penalty
death penalty and executions
death row
capital punishment and (name of country or state)

Recommended Databases:

Academic Search 1984 - to date (updated daily)
This library database indexes approximately 3,100 popular magazines and academic journals and provides the full-text articles from approximately 1,000 journals. Basic instructions for Academic Search

CQ Researcher November 1991 - to date (updated weekly)
Contains weekly reports from Congressional Quarterly that cover the most current and controversial issues. Basic instructions for CQ Researcher

Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe Dates Vary (updated daily)
Contains the full-text articles from U.S. and international newspapers (including the New York Times, June 1980 - to date), as well as some news and business magazines and trade journals. The truncation symbol is an exclamation point (!). Basic instructions for Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe

Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS) 1972 - to date (updated quarterly)
Indexes journal articles, books, government documents, statistical compilations, committee reports, directories, serials, reports of public, intergovernmental and private organizations, and most other forms of printed literature from all over the world. The full-text of the articles is not available in the database. Basic instructions for PAIS

ProQuest Research Library 1988 - to date (updated daily)
Indexes over 2,000 general-interest and academic journals. Nearly 1,000 periodicals are full-text. Dates vary, but many full-text journals go back to 1988. Basic instructions for ProQuest Research Library

Readers' Guide Full Text and Retrospective 1890 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes 240 popular magazines in a wide range of subject areas. Full-text coverage of 131 titles begins with 1994. Basic instructions for Readers' Guide Full Text

Social Sciences Full Text 1983 - to date (updated monthly)
Indexes more than 415 scholarly journals in economics, politics, public administration, public health, sociology, criminology, environmental and urban studies, psychology and anthropology. Basic instructions for Social Sciences Full Text

Finding Books

MadCat
Books on capital punishment can be found in MadCat, the UW-Madison library catalog.

Sample keyword searches:

"capital punishment" AND "United States"
"capital punishment" AND "United States" AND law?
"death penalty" AND race
"capital punishment" AND moral

Internet Sites

Death Penalty Information Center
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
Web site provides current information on death penalty questions.

Death Penalty Information
http://deathpenaltycurriculum.org/student/index.html
Information provided by Michigan State University.

Focus on the Death Penalty
http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/death/
Educational site from the University of Alaska.

The Death Penalty (Speakout.com)
http://www.speakout.com/Activism/deathpenalty/
Offers information from a variety of viewpoints.

Death Penalty (About.com)
http://crime.about.com/od/death/
Provides information and links on death penalty issues.

Statistics

Bureau of Justice Statistics
Execution statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Videos

Deadline
College Library Main Book Collection: KF I1765 C2 D43 2004

Death Row, U.S.A.
College Library Main Book Collection: HV8699 U5 D438 2001

Organizations

ACLU Death Penalty Campaign
http://www.aclu.org/capital/index.html
The American Civil Liberties Union's Freedom Network Web site offers timely information on death penalty issues.

Pro-Death Penalty.com
http://www.prodeathpenalty.com
Site provides information in support of the death penalty, from Justice for All: a Criminal Justice Reform Organization.

National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
http://www.ncadp.org
Web site provides information from a coalition of organizations committed to the abolition of capital punishment.