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Welcome to the Instructor Section of Capital Punishment in Context: A Resource for College Courses.

Capital Punishment in Context is an innovative approach to teaching research skills and critical thinking, using death penalty cases as a catalyst for broader exploration and discussion of topics relevant to a variety of courses. Attitudes toward capital punishment involve strongly-held beliefs, values and emotions, and it is a perennial topic of formal and informal debate.

This resource capitalizes on students’ intrinsic interest in the topic, and helps them to learn how to conduct research and analysis in a value-laden domain. Through the use of teaching cases, the curriculum provides a starting point for research on complex criminal justice issues relevant to a variety of academic disciplines, such as psychology, political science and criminal justice. Analysis and discussion of the cases and related materials are intended to develop analytical and investigative skills, and to facilitate students’ consideration of their own background assumptions and biases in the context of multiple sources of evidence and perspectives.

The key benefits to using teaching cases are that students can choose which issues to explore and how to go about it (or the instructor can assign different issues to different students), and class discussions can be enriched by the students’ independent investigations. Each case consists of a detailed set of facts with links to information, legal opinions and databases related to broader issues. Following these links to new information contributes to the development of a variety of skills, such as information search strategies, critical analysis of conflicting ideas, integration of a variety of relevant resources, and persuasive argumentation. The case teaching method facilitates learning by moving back and forth between abstract concepts and concrete, case-specific information.

Curriculum Content and Format

In order to provide instructors and students with a flexible and interactive curriculum, Capital Punishment in Context is accessible through the Internet. Web-based curricula offer substantial pedagogical benefits. The Internet allows instructors to enrich standard course materials with a variety of supplementary materials, such as articles, multi-media presentations, and databases specifically geared to the content of courses offered in different disciplines. By directing students to different domains of additional materials, instructors can tailor this collection of resources to questions, issues, and research methods in different disciplines, and create exercises and individualized assignments appropriate to the specific course content.

Capital Punishment in Context contains teaching cases of individuals who were sentenced to death in the United States. Each case presents a narrative account of the individual’s legal case, along with guidelines for analysis, discussion and further research on issues raised by the case. The case narratives are supplemented by resources such as the original police reports from the homicide investigation, affidavits from witnesses and transcripts of testimony from witnesses. Each case delineates a path through the criminal justice system.

Each case narrative highlights several broader issues that are explored further on the site. Students will be able to access issue-related materials prepared by leading researchers and scholars. In addition, the curriculum contains video interviews with key individuals in the case, such as attorneys, jurors and witnesses. There are also videos featuring legal experts, so students can learn about such complex subjects as the capital trial and appeals process. With links to primary source materials, these videos are designed to add richness and depth to the cases while keeping students engaged in the curriculum.

The curriculum also provides support for professors as they incorporate the teaching cases into their courses. Instructors will have access to an additional section of the Web site that features such resources, as detailed teaching notes and sample syllabi from courses that incorporate the curriculum’s teaching cases. In addition, DPIC’s staff will be available to assist those using the curriculum.

Intended Audiences and Uses

The cases provide a vehicle through which real-life situations are brought into the classroom. They can be used in any course where narratives of specific events can help elucidate and exemplify theory. Because each teaching case is designed to be a springboard for discussion of the major issues presented in the case, courses in psychology, criminal justice, political science and sociology would all benefit from the inclusion of the curriculum’s teaching cases. In the case of Gary Graham, for example, Graham’s guilt rested on the testimony of a single eyewitness who identified him as the perpetrator; he was 17 at the time of the crime; his trial attorney has since been banned from handling capital cases; and he was convicted in a state that elects all of its appellate judges. A psychology course might explore the reliability of eyewitness identification, a criminal justice course might examine the recent trends in the treatment of young offenders—including their exclusion from capital punishment by a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and a political science course could explore the independence of the state judiciary.

Capital Punishment in Context’s pairing of the teaching cases with supplementary resources provides an excellent way to teach research, analysis, and critical thinking skills. Teaching cases can be integrated into any course that aims to teach research skills involving library, Internet, or electronic database research. Students could be asked to evaluate the available literature on issues raised in connection with the Graham case, such as the extent, kinds, and causes of incompetent representation of capital defendants by defense attorneys, and to propose correctives for this problem. Students in any course concerned with empirical methodology could be asked to evaluate some of the published studies on issues regarding the efficacy of the death penalty as a deterrent or the distribution of attitudes regarding the death penalty. To enhance critical thinking skills, students could be asked to analyze the rhetorical techniques involved in the arguments, judicial opinions, and journalistic reporting included in the teaching cases, or to explore the unarticulated assumptions made in these writings. Through each exercise, students will gain valuable academic skill sets.

The curriculum is designed to be flexible. It can be incorporated into existing courses, by using each case alone or in conjunction with other case narratives, to explore fully specific substantive issues. In this way, the death penalty cases can serve as a vehicle for discussing broader issues. Alternatively, the cases can be used as a unit focused solely on the death penalty.

Curriculum Authorship

Capital Punishment in Context was developed by the Death Penalty Information Center in conjunction with the Education Development Center. Numerous experts in the fields of education and criminal justice assisted with its preparation. The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization that provides the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Death Penalty Information Center previously partnered with the Michigan State Communications Technology Laboratory to design an award-winning Web-based high school curriculum on the death penalty that is used in classrooms throughout the country. The Education Development Center is an international, non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing learning and fostering a deeper understanding of the world.