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The University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Capital Punishment

  • Semester: Spring 2008
  • Course ID: 278R
  • Credit Hours: 2
  • Unique: 28240

Course Information

Registration Information

  • 1L and upperclass elective

Meeting Times

Day Time Location
TUE 3:30 - 5:20 pm TNH 3.126

Evaluation Method

Type Date Time Location
Final exam May 12, 2008 8:30 am A-Z in 2.137

Description

This small course taught in seminar style will examine a variety of legal, moral, and cultural issues related to the American system of capital punishment. The legal issues will include the development of the law governing capital punishment in the United States since 1970 (including the basic structure of Eighth Amendment capital sentencing doctrine, the process of appellate and post-conviction review, the assistance of counsel in capital cases, and the persistent influence of racial discrimination). We will also consider the four conventional justifications for criminal punishment in the Western political/philosophical tradition (retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation) and how they relate to the death penalty as it has been employed in America. We will explore these moral and cultural questions through depictions of the death penalty in works of fiction, philosophical essays, films, and primary source materials (documents from actual capital cases). The course will have a maximum of 25 students, 10-12 of whom will participate in the Capital Punishment Clinic. The course will be graded on a letter-grade basis for all students. The grade will be based on a final exam and class participation

Instructors

Headshot of Owen, Robert C. Owen, Robert C.
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