A publication of the Justice Center	Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center

"The Brady Act in Alaska"
by Cassie Atwell

Gun control -- especially keeping handguns out of the wrong hands -- has been a recurring theme across the U.S. in the last three decades. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which became effective in 1994 as an addition to the Gun Control Act of 1964, seeks to control handguns by expressly prohibiting the sale of handguns to individuals falling under certain classifications. This article presents findings from a study of the effectiveness of the Brady Act in Alaska, focusing on procedures used by Alaska law enforcement agencies to determine eligibility of applicants for handgun purchases and looking at handgun purchase applications denied by the Anchorage Police Department (APD).

"Notes on the Brady Bill (A Viewpoint)"
by Lawrence C. Trostle

The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act has been the most publicized legislative attempt to control the sales of handguns in the U.S. Based on results of a two-and-a-half-year study of data sources in Alaska related to the provisions of the Brady Act, this article presents the author's views on problems with the Brady Act's implementation, which had their foundation in the conceptualizations which led to the legislation and in the administration of the act's provisions.

"Capital Punishment in the U.S. in 1997 (A BJS Report)"
by the Bureau of Justice Statistics

In 1997, seventeen states executed 74 prisoners in 1997, the largest annual number of executions since the 76 executed in 1955.

"International Data on the Death Penalty"

Examines the use of capital punishment by other countries, showing which countries have abolished the death penalty, which currently retain it, and which nations are parties to international anti-death penalty treaties.