Death Penalty Statutes
Interrelated issues: (1) the constitutionality of death penalty statutes, (2) what crimes are capital, (3) mitigating circumstances, (4) aggravating circumstances, (5) the appellate process, (6) capital juries, (7) who may or may not be executed, (8) assistance of counsel, and (9) other procedural issues.
Choose one of these areas and analyze all the pertinent cases (including some not reviewed in the textbook). Document changes in the views of the Court as they relate to the issue you chose. How did these rulings affect the process of capital punishment?