ABSTRACT
The acrimonious debate over capital punishment has continued for centuries (Beccaria, 1764; Stephen, 1864). In recent decades the debate has heated up in the United States following the Supreme Court-imposed moratorium on capital punishment.1 Currently, several states are considering a change in their policies regarding the status of the death penalty. Nebraska’s legislature, for example, recently passed a two-year moratorium on executions, which was, however, vetoed by the state’s governor. Ten other states have at least considered a moratorium last year (“Execution Reconsidered,” 1999, p. 27). The group includes Oklahoma, whose legislature will soon consider a bill imposing a two-year moratorium on executions and establishing a task force to research the effectiveness of capital punishment. The legislatures in Nebraska and Illinois have also called for similar research. In Massachusetts, however, the House of Representatives voted down a bill supported by the governor to reinstate the death penalty.
