“Viewed alongside the lynching, today’s death penalty suggests a radical inversion of form, a mirror image, a reformed present that vehemently rejects its past. This negative symmetry is so striking that we must suppose that the contemporary American death penalty has, in important respects been designed to be an antilynching — and that is precisely the hypothesis that will be pursued here.” David Garland, Peculiar Institution: America’s Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition, p. 34.
Assignment: Relying on the first six chapters, (PAGES 9-182), i.e., the assigned readings, write an essay discussing how well or poorly (or some combination) Garland achieves his stated goal. Stated differently, focusing on the assigned chapters, critique Garland’s work as it relates to what he tells the reader he intends to do.
Instructions: Your essay should be three-to-four pages, double-spaced with one-inch margins. Support your points and analysis with page specific citations to the first six chapters of Garland’s book. Avoid outside sources, including published book reviews. As shared before, 2-1/2 or 2-3/4’s pages do not equal three. Also, please avoid use of the first-person voice, e.g., “I think,” “I believe,” “in my opinion,” etc. It is understood the views expressed are your own.