A Public Health Case for the Abolition of the Death Penalty

Abstract This chapter argues that the collateral consequences of the death penalty have implications for human rights. The authors base their argument on the fact that trauma is a public health issue, and the death penalty is a trauma-organized system that gives rise to many secondary victims. A primary goal of public health is to intervene on a vector (i.e., the death penalty) that causes a health effect (i.e., trauma-related symptoms) in such a way that the identified vector is prevented or controlled and the adverse health effect is diminished or nullified.

In terms of collateral consequences, this chapter addresses secondary victims, beginning with family members of the defendant and victim, members of the execution team, witnesses of the execution, and capital jurors. This chapter concludes with an exploration of U.S. and international laws that, if considered through a public health lens, lend additional support for death penalty abolition.