Social Work, Criminal Justice, and the Death Penalty

Lauren A. Ricciardelli, PhD, LMSW, is Assistant Professor of Social Work at Troy University and a licensed social worker in the state of Georgia.

Foreword, Ed Risler
Author Biographies
Introduction: The Important Role of Social Work

I. Criminal Justice Considerations
Chapter 1. Going, Going, Gone: The Death of Capital Punishment in the 21st Century, Marc Bookman
Chapter 2. Methodological and Procedural Considerations, John R. Barner
Chapter 3. Jury Considerations in Capital Cases, John R. Barner
Chapter 4. The History of Mitigation in Death Penalty Cases, Russell Stetler
Chapter 5. Social Workers in Capital Defense Practice: Demystifying Human Frailty / Empowering Conscience, Brian Kammer

II. Sociopolitical Considerations
Chapter 6. On Capital Punishment, Richard Dien Winfield
Chapter 7. Structuralism, Neoliberalism, and the U.S. Criminal Justice, Larry Nackerud
Chapter 8. The Criminalization of Poverty, Christopher R. Larrison
Chapter 9. Mass Incarceration: The Politics of Race, Gender, and U.S. Prison, Michael Robinson, Sharon E. Moore, & A. Christson Adedoyin
Chapter 10. A Public Health Case for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, Elizabeth Beck, Cynthia Adcock, & Allison Bantimba
Chapter 11. Affecting Legislative Change from the Judicial Perspective, Timothy R. Saviello

III. Social Work Considerations
Chapter 12. Linking the Social Services and Criminal Justice Systems, Leon Ginsberg
Chapter 13. Serious Mental Illness, Criminal Justice, and the Death Penalty, Anna Scheyett & Katherine J. Crawford
Chapter 14. Intellectual Disability, Criminal Justice, and the Death Penalty, Cliff Sloan & Lauryn Fraas
Chapter 15. Immigration, Foreign Nationals, and the U.S. Death Penalty, Larry Nackerud & John Barner
Chapter 16. The Death Penalty from the Family Perspective, Jennifer Schweizer & Elizabeth Beck
Chapter 17. The Relevance of Trauma and Secondary Trauma to Death Penalty Cases, Robyn Painter
Chapter 18. Advocacy, Activism, & Policy Practice: Social Workers as Advocates for Criminal Legal System Reforms,
Marissa McCall Dodson

Epilogue: Making a Seat at the Table
Glossary
Appendix: Recommended Works and Resources