Walking the Edge of Death: An Annotated Bibliography on Juveniles, the Mentally Ill, the Mentally Retarded and the Death Penalty

The death penalty is not so monolithic as it seems at first glance. A storm of debate has centered around the application of this, the harshest criminal penalty of all, to the mentally ill, mentally retarded, and juveniles. They are our most vulnerable and least culpable citizens. This bibliography consists of annotated references to periodical articles, books, Web sites, and Supreme Court cases that examine the application of the death penalty to juveniles, the mentally ill, and the mentally retarded.

It does not include newspaper articles, popular magazines, Web sites that offer no substantive content, or materials that are unobtainable from major research libraries. Due to the vast quantity of material on the death penalty, this bibliography is not comprehensive. Omissions do not necessarily reflect a qualitative judgment about the material omitted. The bibliography has been organized under three subject headings: I. Juveniles, II.

Mentally Ill, and I. Mentally Retarded. The three subject headings are further subdivided into A. Supreme Court Cases and B. Books, Articles, and Web Sites.