The primary purpose of this volume is to provide a comprehensive source of information on the legal, social, and political history and present status of capital punishment in the U.S. The encyclopedia accomplishes this through the use of A-Z entries, both brief and extensive, covering almost every capital punishment opinion issued by the U.S. Supreme Court through 1999. In addition there are entries covering each jurisdiction in the U.S. that summarize the relevant death penalty laws as well as provide information on the judicial structure of each jurisdiction. There are also entries for the status of capital punishment in other nations of the world; famous capital prosecutions; organizations that are either pro- or anti-capital punishment; capital punishment in the military; and the impact of capital punishment on minority groups in the U.S.