Educational Curricula

The Death Penalty Information Center’s High School Curriculum on the Death Penalty is now available for students and teachers as a free electronic textbook for use on the Apple iPad. This balanced and dynamic resource uses an issue of public concern to teach civic responsibility, research, and critical thinking. The e-textbook contains all the features of DPIC’s award-winning online curriculum, including summaries of arguments for and against the death penalty, case studies based on actual trials, summaries of the legal stages in a capital case, a brief history of the death penalty, color maps and interactive features. The e-book version incorporates the interactivity and user-friendly interface of a tablet, including touch-screen navigation, access to the full curriculum even when offline, and use of standard iBook features, such as instant word definitions and easy note-taking functions. For instructions on downloading the e-book, click here or go to the iBookstore on your iPad and search “Death Penalty Information Center.”

The Death Penalty Information Center is pleased to announce a greatly expanded version of its college-level curriculum, Capital Punishment in Context (CPIC). The curriculum is free to professors and students and is available online.  The curriculum uses a case-study approach, providing detailed factual accounts of actual death penalty cases, along with a rich variety of supplementary materials. Probing questions for additional research are offered in a variety of issue areas.  Supplementing the case studies of Gary Graham and Juan Garza, CPIC now offers studies on Anthony Porter and Aileen Wuornos, whose cases garnered significant national attention. Porter was exonerated after students at the Medill School of Journalism investigated his case. Wuornos, who was accused of being a serial killer, was the subject of widespread media attention and at least two movies. The college curriculum provides a complete narrative of each case, including original resources such as homicide reports, affidavits, and transcripts of testimony from witnesses. The narratives are followed by a discussion of the issues raised by each case, enabling students to research further into a broad variety of topics. The curriculum has been widely used by educators across the country in such fields as sociology, civics, criminal justice and many other areas.