Death Penalty USA: 2001 - 2002

The taking of a human life is in all circumstances reprehensible and must be punished within the confines of U.S. law.The basic concept underlying the Eighth Amendment is nothing less than the dignity of man. While the State has the power to punish, the Amendment stands to assure that this power be exercised within the limits of civilized standards. (Trop v. Dulles (1958) 356 U.S. 86, 100) This is the third book in a series of books providing a brief history of 21st century capital-punishment executions in the United States. Each volume in the series begins with an overview of capital punishment in the United States and follows with the case histories of two consecutive years of U.S. executions.These books are not intended to be easy reading. The crimes for which the death penalty was imposed are truly horrific and described in graphic detail based on public record. Compilations are taken from and referenced to case citations. Original names and places are retained. Some cases are necessarily more comprehensive than others. High profile murders and those involving multiple victims, difficult conviction, and vigorous defenses have more extensive records than capital crimes involving the murder of a homeless person or a clerk during a convenience store robbery. Cases where the conviction is based on circumstantial evidence tend to be more detailed than those based on voluntary confessions as do cases that take advantage of the appellate process.Each case history is written in a nonsensationalized way that is respectful of all those touched by death. The crimes are written such that each is self-contained and can be read either sequentially or randomly. Supplemental information such as a condemned prisoner's last meal and last words are added when such material is insightful, and the prosecution and the disposition of accomplices is included when known. The names of the executed prisoners are indexed chronologically in the Table of Contents. A reference list and an Index are provided.

Michelangelo Delfino and Mary E. Day gained worldwide attention when their investigative reporting caused five F.B.I. agents to storm Agilent Technologies, Inc. in Loveland, Colorado in pursuit of a high-level Agilent employee sending death threats to families in California. In a criminal case that highlighted the vulnerability of corporate America to domestic terrorism, the two muckrakers testified on behalf of the federal government, the Agilent terrorist was prosecuted, and none of his threats were carried out. Death Penalty USA: 2001 - 2002 is Delfino and Day's third book in a highly acclaimed series of capital crime and punishment books. Devoting themselves to public issues, they are the authors of the best-selling book on SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) and a medical/health book that warns of the dangers of using radiation to diagnose and treat cancer.