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Previous Volume 347:1814-1818 November 28, 2002 Number 22

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Two major aspects of the death penalty in the United States directly involve physicians: how the death penalty is carried out and who is subject to execution. As a matter of constitutional law, both are governed by the prohibition against "cruel and unusual" punishment in the Eighth Amendment. The meaning of "cruel and unusual," unlike every other part of the U.S. Constitution, is determined by public opinion as it reflects society's evolving standards of decency. With regard to how the death penalty is carried out, the role of physicians in capital punishment has been controversial for more than two decades.^1,2,3 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Crime

The Punishment

Identifying the Mentally Retarded

The Dissenting Opinions

Moral Progress

Whither Capital Punishment?

The Role of Physicians

Source Information

From the Health Law Department, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston.

Related Letters:

Moral Progress, Mental Retardation, and the Death Penalty
Farber A., Nurok M., Annas G. J.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2003; 348:864-865, Feb 27, 2003. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Farber, A., Nurok, M., Annas, G. J. (2003). Moral Progress, Mental Retardation, and the Death Penalty. NEJM 348: 864-865 [Full Text]