Life and Death Decision

Although law professor Sundby casts this book as an impartial look at capital jury deliberations, it would be difficult to walk away from it without a few lingering doubts about the efficacy of the current system of death penalty sentencing. Drawing on information from the Capital Jury Project, a nationwide study that interviewed more than 1,000 capital jurors, as well as on data from studies of group decision-making, this work offers a gripping and important look behind the jury room doors. Those who oppose the death penalty will no doubt come across much here to bolster their views. And those who support it will find themselves with plenty of food for thought as Sundby surveys crucial issues such as jury instructions, jury room setup and voir dire procedures. Regardless of where one stands in the debate, however, Sundby uses the personal stories of the jurors so compellingly that he brings the drama of the jury room to vivid life.