Casting New Light on an Old Subject: Death Penalty Abolitionism for a New Millennium (reviewing Austin Sarat, When the State Kills: Capital Punishment and the American Condition (2001)).

This paper examines recent U.S. efforts to abolish capital punishment, using Austin Sarat's 2001 book "When the State Kills" as the centerpiece of its exploration. The book, rather than mounting a principled "frontal assault" on the death penalty, instead surveys the numerous ways in which capital punishment negatively affects American law, politics, and culture. The paper considers the broader historic significance of this tactical shift and reflects upon the consequences and prospects for its ultimate success.