Semester:
Offered:
Carol S. Steiker (Harvard Law School)
First-Year Seminar 41E 4 credits (fall term) Enrollment: Limited to 14
Note: This seminar will meet at 3:30-5:30pm.
This seminar will address the controversies that swirl around the American death penalty in the distinct but related contexts of morality, law, and politics. At the level of moral theory, we will consider whether the death penalty is ever justified as a state practice, both in the abstract and in application, given concerns about its fairness and efficacy in deterring crime. We will explore the U.S. Supreme Court’s “constitutionalization” of capital punishment starting with its landmark decision in 1972 in the case of Furman v. Georgia. We will trace the Court’s attempt to deal with issues of fair process, proportionality, cruelty, reliability, and racial discrimination. Close readings of key opinions will show how the Court’s interpretations of the majestic generalities of the Constitution—the guarantees of “due process”, “equal protection,” and protection from “cruel and unusual punishments”—have been informed by moral theory. Finally, we will consider the American death penalty in political context, both nationally and internationally. We will assess explanations for the anomaly of American retention of capital punishment, alone among Western democracies. We will consider how moral philosophy and legal regulation have affected the course of the American death penalty in the political sphere and contemplate the legal and political future of the institution. Will (or can) the death penalty be reformed? What are the prospects for nationwide abolition (or large-scale resurgence)? Will (or should) the death penalty’s future lie in the hands of the courts or the political branches of government?