The Death Penalty: A Reference Handbook. By Joseph A. Melusky and Keith A. Pesto. Contemporary World Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. 2017. 372 pages. Acid-free $60 (ISBN 978-1-4408-4549-9). E-book available (978-1-4408-4550-5), call for pricing.

The affordable but brief single-volume The Death Penalty: A Reference Handbook is edited by Professor Joseph Melusky of St. Francis University and Keith A. Pesto, a veteran US Magistrate Judge and lecturer at St. Francis. Pesto and Melusky have collaborated several times on related ABC-CLIO reference works including The Death Penalty: Documents Decoded (2014), Capital Punishment (2011), and Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Rights and Liberties under the Law (2003). This title is part of ABC-CLIO’s Contemporary World Issues Series, which “address vital issues in today’s society” and are “written by professional writers, scholars and nonacademic experts,” covering current topics such as marijuana, social media, and prisons (v). Just as all the other titles in this series, The Death Penalty: A Reference Handbook provides an overview of the subject, a detailed chronology, biographical sketches, primary sources and relevant data, perspectives essays by experts, and a list of resources (v). The focus of this work is the death penalty in the United States, with the aim of the book to “provide a balanced, objective discussion of arguments, and controversies” (xv). The perspective essays provide a wide range of voices, from former Governor Tom Corbett to academics from multiple disciplines, to leaders in nonprofit organizations. The profiles section provides brief one- to two-page entries on key people, organizations, events, and cases. The strongest part of this work is the third of the book dedicated to “Background and History” and “Problems, Controversies, and Solutions.” These two sections, written by Melusky and Pesto, feature clear, readable, and concise writing that is comprehensive with excellent insights. These sections of the book could serve as the foundation for the research of a high-school student or beginning undergraduate. The analysis throughout the book connects the many cases and decisions that have shaped the law surrounding the death penalty in a fashion that is encyclopedic without being overwhelming. Each section has an extensive list of references including relevant cases, in addition to a sixty-page reference section. In some areas, this title is sometimes too focused on framing the legal history of the death penalty, and doesn’t analyze related issues extensively. For example, capital punishment and individuals with intellectual disabilities is only mentioned once briefly in the context of juvenile justice.

Surprisingly, there are not many recent reference works dedicated solely to capital punishment or the death penalty. The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment in the United States (McFarland, 2008) is a good resource but is already in need of an updated edition and focuses on Supreme Court decisions. The Greenhaven Encyclopedia of Capital Punishment (2006) is also a good title but is too dated to still be considered current and authoritative. The recently released Routledge Handbook of Capital Punishment (2018), edited by Robert Bohm and Gavin Lee, is an excellent volume covering major themes related to capital punishment with essays by major scholars exploring specific subtopics such as the financial costs of the death penalty. The Death Penalty: A Reference Handbook could be a good addition to those libraries that will purchase the Routledge Handbook of Capital Punishment as the intended audiences are different, with one providing a solid summary for beginning scholars, while the other provides specific analysis of a variety of topics related to capital punishment.

Recommended for high-school libraries and academic libraries for first- and second-year undergraduates.—Shannon Pritting, Library Director, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Utica, New York