The Death Penalty in the United States, in Theory and Practice

In this course we will explore one of the most controversial topics in our criminal justice system from both theoretical and practical perspectives, discussing arguments for and against the death penalty, reviewing case law, examining trial transcripts and other media, and conducting a mock trial in which the students act as teams of lawyers handling a capital sentencing. The first two weeks of the course will focus on the theory and history of capital punishment; the second two weeks will focus on capital punishment in practice, with students seeing how sentencing trials really work and participating in one.