NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

USA Conversation

The Conversation USA

The Conversation USA

When families of murder victims speak at death penalty trials, their anguish may make sentencing less fair

  • Written by Austin Sarat, Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageFour of the 10 federal prisoners executed this year: Wesley Purkey, killed July 16; Dustin Honken, killed July 17; Brandon Bernard, killed Dec. 10; and Alfred Bourgeois, killed Dec. 11. In some cases, survivors of their victims addressed the court.AP Photo

The Trump administration is spending its final months authorizing executions. Ten federal...

Read more: When families of murder victims speak at death penalty trials, their anguish may make sentencing...

More Articles ...

  1. What you need to know about this year's winter solstice and the great conjunction
  2. Here's why Christmas movies are so appealing this holiday season
  3. Llamas are having a moment in the US, but they've been icons in South America for millennia
  4. FDA authorized first over-the-counter COVID-19 test – useful but not a game changer
  5. The top scientific breakthrough for 2020 was understanding SARS-CoV-2 and how it causes COVID-19 – and then developing multiple vaccines
  6. Why retired generals rarely lead the Pentagon
  7. As heavenly bodies converge, many ask: Is the Star of Bethlehem making a comeback?
  8. 10 reasons why Anthony Fauci was ready to be the face of the US pandemic response
  9. Why the Puritans cracked down on celebrating Christmas
  10. Cuba redobla el acoso a quienes piden libertades creativas después de diálogo 'inédito' con artistas
  11. Black candidates can win in swing districts
  12. Wildfire smoke changes dramatically as it ages, and that matters for downwind air quality – here's what we learned flying through smoke plumes
  13. President Trump's use of the authoritarian playbook will have lasting consequences
  14. Cuba cracks down on artists who demanded creative freedoms after 'unprecedented' government negotiations
  15. US nonprofits raised $2.5 billion on Giving Tuesday in 2020
  16. 4 signs that food pantries improve the diets of low-income people
  17. 5 ways MacKenzie Scott’s $5.8 billion commitment to social and economic justice is a model for other donors
  18. Museum specimens could help fight the next pandemic – why preserving collections is crucial to future scientific discoveries
  19. Americans aren't getting enough to eat during the coronavirus pandemic – here's what's happening in Los Angeles County
  20. K-12 schools need to take cyberattacks more seriously
  21. The reality of Black men's love lives and marriages is very different than what's usually shown on TV – I spent years actually talking to them
  22. Why being stuck at home – and unable to hang out in cafes and bars – drains our creativity
  23. Companies accused of crimes get more digital privacy rights than people under new Trump policy
  24. COVID-19 means a lot more work for families of children with disabilities, but schools can help
  25. Will going out in the cold give you a cold?
  26. Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ's birth
  27. The coronavirus vaccine: A doctor answers 5 questions
  28. Racial stereotypes drive students of color away from STEM, but many still persist
  29. What vaccine distribution planners can learn from Amazon and Walmart
  30. Virgin births from parthenogenesis: How females from some species can reproduce without males
  31. COVID-19 further exposes inequalities in the global financial system
  32. Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh fear their medieval churches will be destroyed
  33. Ancient Greek desire to resolve civil strife resonates today – but Athenian justice would be a 'bitter pill' in modern America
  34. It takes a lot of energy for machines to learn – here's why AI is so power-hungry
  35. Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires – it's a risk in urban fires, too
  36. Pardon me? An ethicist's guide to what is proper when it comes to presidential pardons
  37. On the first day of Christmas...teachers got a legal headache over blurring the line between church and state
  38. Who is doing all those COVID-19 tests? Why you should care about medical laboratory professionals
  39. A hospital that prescribes free nutritious food to families who need more than medical care
  40. Puerto Rico wants statehood – but only Congress can make it the 51st state in the United States
  41. Why getting back to 'normal' doesn't have to involve police in schools
  42. W.E.B. Du Bois embraced science to fight racism as editor of NAACP's magazine The Crisis
  43. Taking fish out of fish feed can make aquaculture a more sustainable food source
  44. Mermaids aren't real – but they've fascinated people around the world for ages
  45. My university will be getting COVID-19 vaccines soon – here's how my team will get doses into arms
  46. Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society
  47. From the White House to ancient Athens: Hypocrisy is no match for partisanship
  48. Biden's chance to revive US tradition of inserting ethics in foreign policy
  49. What is a neural network? A computer scientist explains
  50. Why do so few clergy serve in Congress?