The first article historically traces the involvement of social and behavioral scientists in the campaign against capital punishment, distinctions between research studies and constitutional litigation, and issues future research on capital punishment should address. The second article distinguishes between capital punishment and other forms of violence, while the third article reviews U.S. Supreme Court decisions and empirical research evidence on capital punishment between 1986 and 1989. Subsequent articles examine capriciousness in decisions by prosecutors to charge homicide defendants with a capital crime, the proportionality principle in capital felony murder cases, and contemporary attitudes toward capital punishment. References, tables, and figures