Gustav Klimt, Judith and Holofernes, 1901  Österreichische Galerie, Vienna

Whitman argues that in the United States the the death penalty is in the hands of legislatures and judges who are more responsible to the public will (publica utilitas?) than are the German and French bureaucrats who administer criminal law in the Civil Law countries.

James Q. Whitman, Harsh Justice:  Criminal Punishment and the Widening Divide between America and Europe (New York:  Oxford University Press, 2003)