The Penalty Is Death: State Power, Law, and Justice

by Barry Jones (Editor), Barry Jones (Introduction)

Overview

An updated edition of the classic study of capital punishment originally published 50 years ago, with a new introduction by Barry Jones.

The Penalty Is Death was first published in 1968, in the aftermath of the hanging of Ronald Ryan in Victoria—the last man executed in Australia. At the time, capital punishment had been abolished as the penalty for murder in only 30 nations, although there was a moratorium on its use in many more. In 2022, the number of abolitionist nations has risen to 108, and 54 more have longstanding moratoriums. The World Coalition against the Death Penalty reported the number of recorded executions in 2021 at 2,397, with about 2,000 in China.

Drawing on a wide range of historical and contemporary sources, The Penalty Is Death includes some of the most significant voices in the international history of debates about capital punishment from the eighteenth century to the present day. It contains a historical overview of the arguments for and against capital punishment; legal, political, and philosophical analysis and commentary; and firsthand accounts of the reality of executions and their aftermaths.

It features the views of great novelists such as Charles Dickens, Albert Camus, Arthur Koestler, and George Orwell; philosophers such as Max Charlesworth; legal scholars such as Cesare Beccaria; and rigid enforcers such as J. Edgar Hoover. Barry Jones’s important new introduction brings the story up to date, including the continuing use of the death penalty in the US.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781957363387
Publisher:	Scribe Publications Pty Ltd
Publication date:	05/02/2023
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Barry Jones was a Labor member of the Victorian and Commonwealth parliaments, led the campaign to abolish the death penalty, and became Australia’s longest-serving minister for science from 1983 to 1990. His books include Sleepers, Wake!, A Thinking Reed, Dictionary of World Biography, The Shock of Recognition, and, most recently, What is to be Done: political engagement and saving the planet. He received a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest award, in 2014, and, at the age of 89, is a ‘living national treasure’.

Barry Jones was a Labor member of the Victorian and Commonwealth parliaments, led the campaign to abolish the death penalty, and became Australia’s longest-serving minister for science from 1983 to 1990. His books include Sleepers, Wake!, A Thinking Reed, Dictionary of World Biography, The Shock of Recognition, and, most recently, What is to be Done: political engagement and saving the planet. He received a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest award, in 2014, and, at the age of 89, is a ‘living national treasure’.

Editorial Reviews

More than 50 years after its first publication, Jones’ book is still a valuable resource for advocates against the death penalty across the world.”
—Matthew Coe, Hearsay

Praise for What Is To Be Done:

“Almost four decades ago, Barry Jones foretold the future with his seminal book, Sleepers, Wake! Now, he is back, with new energy and insights. For those wanting to understand the confounding age in which we live, What Is To Be Done is essential reading. I hope it will galvanize the many debates we need to have if we are to shape a better future.”
—Julia Gillard AC

Praise for What Is To Be Done:

“The author of this book is a genius. He irritates the hell out of people of all political loyalties. He reads virtually everything that matters. In these pages we, his readers, are the beneficiaries. Forty years after his masterpiece Sleepers, Wake! he tackles the challenges of a new age: the digital world, climate change, COVID-19, and widespread political disillusionment. If any author can offer us thoughtful directions for what is to be done, it is Barry Jones.”
—Michael Kirby AC CMG

Praise for What Is To Be Done:

“[Barry Jones is an] irrepressible, hugely intelligent, always insightful and utterly unique man … What Is To Be Done blends an astonishing array of scholarly research­ with insights from history, philosophy and literature, coupled with biographical reflections and anecdotes, to assemble political and policy recommend­ations that make a persuasive case for a new way forward.”
—Troy Bramston, The Australian

From the Publisher

04/01/2023

After 54 years, Jones (What Is To Be Done) has edited the second edition of his work. Jones, Australia's longest-serving minister of science, has a prominent background in Australian politics. Thus, the heart of the book covers Australian capital punishment. Originally published in 1968, the book is divided into four parts, each dealing with an aspect of capital punishment: the cons, pros, executions, and victims. Jones updated the introduction, which reads like a magazine article, plus the contributors' biographies and three final notes. He also added Appendix E, which lists the countries that have recently abolished capital punishment. There are nearly 30 articles, a few penned by noted individuals that readers will recognize: Charles Dickens, J. Edgar Hoover, Clarence Darrow, and Albert Camus. The problem with this book is that most of the articles were written in the 1950s and 1960s, and it uses data from that time. There are more recent writings dealing with this topic that could have been included. VERDICT Without current data and articles, this book is a strictly optional purchase.—Michael Sawyer

Library Journal