A Life and Death Decision: A Jury Weighs the Death Penalty

Sundby's book takes the reader beyond abstractions about how capital punishment decisions are made, and provides a rare and consistently fascinating account of how two actual juries reach their decisions. The book is filled with insights about the legal and emotional dynamics of the jury room and the courtroom in death penalty cases. It pulls off a couple of very difficult feats. It treats all the jurors interviewed with respect and understanding, and should be equally informative for those with strong feelings for or against the death penalty and for those who are undecided. In addition, it manages to convey quite a bit of valuable information about the death penalty and the criminal justice system in a way that should be accessible and interesting for those with or without a background in the law. In short, a must-read for anyone who wants a better understanding of the American system of capital punishment, or of jury decision-making in general.

Table of Contents:
The Idealist The Chorus The Holdout The Twelfth Juror Looking into the Kaleidoscope The Utopian Jury Meets Reality Conclusion

About the Author :
SCOTT E. SUNDBY is the Sydney and Frances Lewis Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University, USA, and has worked on both the prosecution and defense sides in a variety of criminal cases and has testified as an expert on the death penalty and other legal issue. He lives in Lexington, Virginia, USA.

Review :
"In this most recent publication from the prolific capital jury project, Sundby (law, Washington and Lee Univ.) reports the details of a single murder case as it unfolds, from the shifting perspectives of the jurors who have to decide whether to impose the death penalty. The defendant's guilt is certain; however, the narratives show that the various jurors view him through the frames of their own values and that they differ markedly from one another in the ways in which they reconstruct the crime. Confirming the findings of most other recent jury studies, Sundby finds that these conscripts approach their task conscientiously, determined to do justice. But he also finds that even when the legal requirements are clear, it proves surprisingly difficult for most jurors to actually vote to impose death on a human being. This is a model for what can be done with in-depth interviews by a scholar who is steeped in the subject and approaches it with compassion. Because of its insider perspective, thoroughness, and clarity, this book will be valuable in courses in which the death penalty is considered as a policy problem. Summing Up: Highly recommended." --Choice "Scott Sundby provides a remarkable new perspective on the death penalty--from the jury room. To some, it will confirm their faith in the magic of twelve citizens to find the truth. To others, it exposes the fragility of an imperfect system with which we impose the ultimate penalty." --Bill Kurtis anchors A&E's American Justice and is the author of The Death Penalty on Trial: Crisis in American Justice "Reading like a legal thriller, Sundby's book is a fascinating study proving the imposition of the death penalty depends more on who is on the jury than who is on trial. Like Sherlock Holmes, Sundby peers deep into the jury box and the mind of each juror to follow the Byzantine process used to send another human being to a grisly death." --Roy Black, the famed criminal defense attorney who has handled more than 200 capital cases in the last four decades. "This is the best account I have ever read of how a jury decides whether to impose a death sentence. We see the case from the jurors' multiple and sometimes inconsistent points of view. Deftly combining a narrative of one trial with conclusions drawn from broader research, Sundby provides unique insight into the realities behind debates about the death penalty." --Stuart Banner, author of The Death Penalty: An American History "While this book will resonate with criminal justice professionals and academics, it is also provides a fine introduction to thinking seriously about the death penalty from the inside out." --Diana R. Gordon, New York Law Journal, May 2005