Thwarting Death: A Legal Culture of Resistance Among Colorado Death Penalty Defense Lawyers

The book explores how death penalty defense lawyers created and embraced a legal culture of resistance, which led to the abolition of the death penalty in Colorado. It highlights the importance of social components in the abolition process and how lawyers operate within this culture to influence public policy.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 141 pages
Publication date: 02 December 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This book delves into the personal experiences of death penalty defense lawyers and their role in shaping a legal culture of resistance to the death penalty in the state of Colorado. It contends that the efforts of capital defense attorneys played a significant social role in the abolition of the death penalty in Colorado. The book explores how these lawyers created and embraced a legal culture of resistance, which compelled them to fight tirelessly to secure life sentences for clients who had committed heinous homicides. A legal culture of resistance does not exist in isolation; it is shaped by various factors and influences. Thwarting Death traces the personal journeys of 15 death penalty defense lawyers, from their childhoods to their retirement, to understand how a legal culture of resistance develops and how lawyers operate within it once it is established. This understanding can have a profound impact on public policy beyond the courtroom, including the creation of a social and political environment conducive to the abolition of the death penalty.

Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031461323
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023