Oregon Law Review : Vol. 90, No. 3, p. 797-836 : The End of the Beginning: The Politics of Death and the American Death Penalty Regime in the Twenty- First Century

Abstract

This Article examines the evolution of the death penalty in the United States, focusing on the modern death penalty regime that the U.S. Supreme Court sanctioned in 1976. As Mr. Davis’s execution demonstrates, the conversation around the death penalty has undergone a marked change in the last decade. Since 2007, a few states have abolished the death penalty, signaling an important turning point in America’s modern experiment with capital punishment. This Article traces these developments and the effect they may have on the future of the U.S. death penalty and the protection the Eighth Amendment affords.