Public Executions: The Death Penalty and the Media (Crime, Media, and Popular Culture)

The death penalty is one of the country's most controversial issues. The fairness of its application is debated in coffeehouses, classrooms, political arenas, and the media. However, despite its representation in the media, most death cases receive surprisingly little national media attention. In fact, of the 1000 people executed in the United States since 1977, and the 3,500 inmates currently awaiting execution, only a handful of cases can be recalled by the public. Those that are memorable are so because only a few are dramatically represented in the media. Why is it that those that receive the most serious penalty are virtually nameless, while the death penalty in general is one of the most discussed aspects of the criminal justice system? What makes some executions more newsworthy than others? What are the implications of this coverage for the public's understanding of this significant issue? This book looks at those death row cases that received the most intensive media coverage from the 1970s through the present, and why. At the same time, it focuses on changes in public opinion about the death penalty and how newspaper coverage and evolving mass sentiment relate to one another. Kudlac covers such celebrated cases as Karla Faye Tucker, Timothy McVeigh, Aileen Wuornos, John Wayne Gacy, and others that captured the attention of the American public and affected public opinion about the death penalty through the help of the media. He considers issues such as religion, politics, race, gender, and class as he reveals the reasons for our attention to certain cases above others. The book concludes with a consideration of where we go from here. With new investigative techniques that have helped to exonerate some death row inmates, and various other considerations that have come into play in recent cases, the future of the death penalty will continue to be shaped by the media and the public. Front Matter 1 Table of Contents 5 Series Foreword 9 Introduction 13 Chapter : Capital Punishment, the Media, and Changing Sensibilities 17 Chapter 2: A Short History of the Death Penalty and Death Penalty Cases 31 Chapter 3: Serial Killers 1977–1994 49 Chapter 4: Protest Cases 1994–2002 83 Chapter 5: Federal Cases and Terrorism 111 Chapter 6: A Focus on the System: Moratorium,DNA Cases, and the Supreme Court 133 Chapter 7: Society’s Ambivalence: ChangingNotions of Punishment andNewsworthiness 155 Appendix: Research Methods 167 Notes 173 Index 195 About the Author 199 Introduction Capital punishment, the media, and changing sensibilities A short history of the death penalty Serial killers, 1977-1994 Protest cases, 1994-2002 Federal death penalty and terrorism A focus on the system : moratorium, DNA cases, and the Supreme Court Conclusion. Compilation of conference papers presented at a meeting on marketing aspects of rural cooperatives in developing countries - covers the cooperative system, marketing cooperatives, rural development, etc. Conference held in lexington 1967 April 26 to 30 Examines the most "celebrated" death penalties in recent years, the reasons they captured the spotlight, and the influence the attention has had on the death penalty debate