Death by Design: Capital Punishment As a Social Psychological System

by Craig Haney

How can otherwise normal, moral persons - as citizens, voters, and jurors - participate in a process that is designed to take the life of another? In DEATH BY DESIGN, research psychologist Craig Haney argues that capital punishment, and particularly the sequence of events that lead to death sentencing itself, is maintained through a complex and elaborate social psychological system that distances and disengages us from the true nature of the task. Relying heavily on his own research and that of other social scientists, Haney suggests that these social psychological forces enable persons to engage in behavior from which many of them otherwise would refrain. However, by facilitating death sentencing in these ways, this inter-related set of social psychological forces also undermines the reliability and authenticity of the process, and compromises the fairness of its outcomes. Because these social psychological forces are systemic in nature - built into the very system of death
sentencing itself - Haney concludes by suggesting a number of inter-locking reforms, derived directly from empirical research on capital punishment, that are needed to increase the fairness and reliability of the process.
The historic and ongoing public debate over the death penalty takes place not only in courtrooms, but also in classrooms, offices, and living rooms. This timely book offers stimulating insights into capital punishment for professionals and students working in psychology, law, criminology, sociology, and cultural area studies. As capital punishment receives continued attention in the media, it is also a necessary and provocative guide that empowers all readers to come to their own conclusions about the death penalty.

Genres: Nonfiction

329 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[AndrewT_C2]

I never really wondered what it'd be like having to sit on a jury... but not just any jury, a jury made to sentence someone to death. Why does the government trust us the people to sentence someone to death, why does the government make us kill someone, why does it put life in our hands. I would've never known unless I read this book. I would of never known what really is going on in people's heads when they are sitting there all high and mighty contemplating wether or not to let them live or let them die... but you already know that in the end the verdict will show that its truly "Death by design"

[Daemonsw0lf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Craig Haney is one of the foremost social psychological researchers in these important, but controversial topics that are prevalent in our Criminal Justice System. Of course, with the concept of the death penalty being tied to such visceral and emotional public opinion it is difficult to get down to the individual elements that make up the system and the outside factors that exacerbate the problem. Craig Haney masterfully breaks it down with easy to comprehend prose combined with hard facts and figures based upon years of his personal social psychological research.

First, though, it is important to understand that Craig Haney - and many other criminology/social psychology researchers - do not support the death penalty. Primarily, this is from a technical perspective. Haney argues that the system itself is empirically, morally and technically broken.

He begins by speaking of the high tensions in the American criminal justice and legal system. How, since the release of the moratorium upon the death penalty in the late seventies, the high courts seem more and more resistant to the social psychological data they were once incredibly receptive to. He describes and defines overarching problems with the system - such as racial bias and jury skewing.

Haney moves on to present a case for media bias affecting public opinion. He argues that the public's opinion of the death penalty and of those placed on death penalty trials is negatively affected. He wraps up the books with presentations of data from his own research illustrating how badly juries can be affected, by not only media bias, but also by the death qualification process itself.

This is a must read for any professional working in the criminal justice system or for anyone looking to understand more about the death penalty system itself - how it is operated and affected by outside factors. An absolutely must read for anyone who intends to work in fields of research and study of capital punishment.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

expected a book that was hard to read and dense, instead it was an easy read full of insightful thoughts on the death penalty. backed with solid research and case cites.