Recent historical background
Laws and legal procedures
Application of the death penalty 1973 to 1985
Racial discrimination and the death penalty
Death sentences imposed on juveniles
Execution of the mentally ill
Appeals in death penalty cases
Executive clemency in capital cases
The cruelty of the death penalty
Involvement of doctors and other health professionals in the death penalty
Conditions on death row
The death penalty in federal law
General arguments for and against the death penalty
International standards and the death penalty
Summary of findings
Conclusions and recommendations
Appendices.