University of Texas - Dallas Paul E. Tracy, Ph.D.

School of Economic, Political, & Policy Sciences 214 - 566 - 3059

cjs_3320@yahoo.com

Crime and Justice Studies -- CJS 3320 OT1

Homicide and Capital Punishment
Summer Session 2008

COURSE DESCRIPTION
The goals of this course are as follows:

1. To provide students with a survey of the nature, extent, and distribution of criminal homicide, one of the
most egregious crimes in the Texas Penal Code.

Topics will include: (a) statutory definition of homicide; and (b) trends and patterns of homicide.

2. The course will also comprehensively examine, Capital Punishment as a criminal sanction. Special attention
will be devoted to whether the application of the death penalty is a fair, just, and effective punishment for
homicide.

Topics will include: (a) Capital Punishment through history; (b) U.S. Supreme Court decisions on Capital
Punishment; (c) Contemporary problems with the application of Capital Punishment.

REQUIRED READING

1. BJS WEBSITE: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm

2. United States Supreme Court decisions.

a. Available in COURT CASES FOLDER; or
b. Use these links to read the cases online:

http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/

3. Texas Penal Code:

Title 5, Offenses Against the Person, Chapter 19, Criminal Homicide

a. Available in TEXAS LEGAL CODES FOLDER; or

b. Use this link to read the policy online:

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/pe.toc.htm

4. Texas Code of Criminal Procedure:

Chapter 37, The Verdict:
1. Article 37.071, Procedure in Capital Case; and
2. Article 37.072. Procedure in Repeat Sex Offender Capital Case

a. Available in TEXAS LEGAL CODES FOLDER; or

b. Use this link to read the policy online:

http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/cr.toc.htm
 Crime and Justice Studies 3320
Homicide and Capital Punishment
Summer 2008

REQUIRED READING - Continued

5. Texas Administrative Code:

Title 37, Public Safety and Corrections, Part 5, Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles:
Chapter 143, Executive Clemency, Subchapter E Commutation of Sentence,
§143.57, Commutation of Death Sentence to Lesser Penalty:

a. Available in TEXAS LEGAL CODES FOLDER; or

b. Use this link to read the policy online:
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.ViewTAC?tac_view=3&ti=37&pt=5

6. Harris County Case Study:

a. Available in TEXAS LEGAL CODES FOLDER

7. Mark Costanzo, 1997

Just Revenge: Costs and Consequences of the Death Penalty. NY: St. Martin's Press.
ISBN: 0-312-17945-6.

Used Copies are Available from Amazon.com. Shop Early.

RECOMMENDED READING
If you have the time to pursue additional reading, I suggest the following books. You can find used copies of these
on Amazon.com.

1. Helen Prejean, 1993.

Dead Man Walking. NY: Vintage Books, a division of Random House. ISBN: 0-679-75131-9.

2. Robert Johnson, 1998, Second Edition.

Death Work: A study of the Modern Execution Process. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth / Thomson.
ISBN: 0-534-52155-X.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There will be a weekly reading assignment shown on the course schedule.

There will be documents attached to each weekly session in the WEEKLY OUTLINE FOLDER. One of these
will be a Weekly Notes document which provides an outline of the significant details of each week’s reading
assignment.

Students will be expected to read all assignments prior to viewing the weekly outline. The outline is provided to
assist you in analyzing the weekly material AFTER you have completed the reading. The outline is not a substitute
for the readings; it is a supplement only.

In addition to the Weekly Notes document, there will also be either a document or a link to the reading assignment
for that particular week.
 Crime and Justice Studies 3320
Homicide and Capital Punishment
Summer 2008

COURSE GRADING

Required Assignments

There are a total of five (5) writing assignments. These assignments will consist of a 5-page paper that will address
an aspect of Homicide or Capital Punishment.

These assignments are evenly spaced across the weekly schedule of the course so that you will have ample time
to complete the assignments by the due date. Discipline yourself and keep up with the work.

Please note that there are specific and detailed instructions for all of these assignments available in the REQUIRED
ASSIGNMENTS FOLDER.

Required Assignment Due Dates:

Assignment # 1 June 11;

Assignment # 2 July 2;
Assignment # 3 July 16;
Assignment # 4 July 30; and
Assignment # 5 August 13

Please note that in order to be fair to those who diligently submit the assignments on time, there will be
deadline extensions only under unusual / unexpected circumstances and only with prior notice.

Extra Credit Assignments

For students who desire additional course evaluation mechanisms, there are four (4) optional assignments. These
optional assignments can increase your final grade score by a maximum of 2.5 points each for a total of 10 points
for all four assignments.

Please note, therefore, that by doing all four assignments, and achieving the maximum score of 2.5 points on
each assignment, your final letter grade can be increased one full grade level (e.g., C+ to B+ or B- to A- etc.).

USEFUL LINKS

1. http://tcadp.org/ Anti-Death Penalty (TX)

2. http://www.ncadp.org/ Anti-Death Penalty

3. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ Anti-Death Penalty

4. http://www.aclu.org/capital/index.html Anti-Death Penalty

5. http://www.icadp.org/ Anti-Death Penalty (IL)

6. http://www.prodeathpenalty.com/ Pro-Death Penalty

 Crime and Justice Studies 3320
Homicide and Capital Punishment
Summer 2008

SCHEDULE TOPIC READING

Week 1 May 28 Statutory Definitions of Criminal Homicide Texas Penal Code

Texas Homicide Statistics
Use this link: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/crimereports/06/cit06ch3.pdf

Week 2 June 4 Homicide Counts & Trends BJS web site

Use this link: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/homtrnd.htm

Week 3 June 11 Capital Punishment: Historical Roots Costanzo, Ch. 1 & 8

Assignment # 1 is due

Week 4 June 18 Capital Punishment: “Unconstitutional” Costanzo, Ch. 2;

Majority Opinions:
Furman V. Georgia;

Week 5 June 25 Capital Punishment: “Unconstitutional” Dissenting Opinions:

Furman V. Georgia;

Week 6 July 2 Capital Punishment: “Constitutional” Again Gregg v. Georgia;

Assignment # 2 is due

Week 7 July 9 Capital Punishment: Fair & Humane? Costanzo, Ch. 3 &.4
Just & Effective? Costanzo, Ch. 5 & 6

Week 8 July 16 Capital Punishment: Texas Style Texas Codes:

Criminal Procedure;
Assignment # 3 is due Administrative Code

Week 9 July 23 Case Study-Harris County Parts 1 & 2

Week 10 July 30 Case Study-Harris County Parts 3 & 4

Assignment # 4 is due

Week 11 August 6 Court Rulings: Miscellaneous Issues Atkins v. VA;

Ring v. AZ;
Roper v. Simmons

Week 12 August 13 Court Ruling: Lethal Injection Baze v. Rees

Assignment # 5 is due

Week 13 August 20 Grades Due in Registrar’s Office