Law and Economics of Death Penalty
This course will explore three primary issues: 1) the Supreme Court's forty-year effort to define what cases can permissibly receive the death penalty and the procedures under which it must be imposed; 2) the arguments for and against the death penalty, with a major focus on whether the death penalty deters, is administered in a racially biased way, or is otherwise implemented in an arbitrary and capricious manner; and 3) what the US and international status of the death penalty is today and what the prospects are for the future. The readings on deterrence and racial discrimination will entail some substantial statistical analysis, although a background in statistics, though helpful, will not be required.