ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the case of Gary Ridgway-the 'Green River Killer'-who was convicted of killing forty-eight women. By committing these forty-eight murders, Ridgway became the worst serial killer in the history of the United States. The death penalty has been used in the United States for centuries. In the decade of the 1960s, the constitutionality of death penalty became an issue, and most executions stopped after 1967 pending the outcome of various legal challenges to capital punishment. For law-and-order proponents, the death penalty is a favored public policy because it is seen as a curb on violent crimes and a just punishment. President Obama is a supporter of death penalty for the most serious of offences but also a supporter of Justice for All Act of 2004, which allowed for DNA testing and more professional defense practices for the accused. Reagan and Bush highlighted their support of death penalty for drug-related murders to showcase activities of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
