‘The time … has surely arrived’: Justice Stevens and the death penalty

Abstract

This sketch looks at the development of the legal thinking of Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens with respect to his position on the death penalty. It offers reasons for Justice Stevens coming to the conclusion that the death penalty should be taken out of play in the justice system of the United States.

Keywords:

• Justice John Paul Stevens
• death penalty
• punishment
• criminal justice
• Supreme Court
• Baze v. Rees