Capital Punishment in Context, an innovative college-level curriculum that provides professors and students with engaging material that supports the development of research and analytical skills of students by building upon their existing interest in the death penalty. The new Web-based curriculum uses real-life capital cases and a broad spectrum of supportive resources to bring this important issue to life in college classrooms throughout the country.
Capital Punishment in Context contains two teaching cases of individuals who were sentenced to death in the United States, Gary Graham and Juan Raul Garza. The curriculum provides a detailed narrative account of each individual’s legal case, including resources such as the original reports from the homicide investigation, affidavits, and transcripts of testimony from witnesses. Students are also given the opportunity to view additional resources, such as online statistical data sets, video segments, news stories, and published academic research.
For professors, the curriculum provides guidelines for analysis, discussion and further research on issues raised by the cases. It also incorporates detailed teaching notes, sample syllabi from courses that incorporate the curriculum’s teaching cases, and a variety of supplementary materials to support professors from different disciplines. The curriculum has received high praise from those who have reviewed and used it, with all agreeing that it is a good fit for those teaching a variety of academic disciplines, such as legal studies, literature, writing, statistics, and religion.
