Austin Sarat

Who is Austin Sarat?

Austin Sarat is William Nelson Cromwell professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He is also a Five College Fortieth Anniversary Professor. He has written, co-written, or edited more than fifty books in the fields of law and political science. Professor Sarat received a B.A. from Providence College in 1969, and both an M.A. and Ph.D from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1970 and 1973, respectively. He also received a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1988.

Sarat's primary research interest is the use of the death penalty, which he refers to as "state killing." He believes that the death penalty, due to the extreme nature of its punishment, provides a unique opportunity to examine American values and beliefs and how they are manifested in the American legal system. His most recent book, Mercy On Trial: What it Means To Stop an Execution, investigated the use of executive clemency, particularly Illinois Governor George Ryan's decision to commute all impending death sentences in the Illinois state penitentiary system. Due to his extensive knowledge on this subject, he was widely consulted by the popular media during the coverage of the Stanley Williams execution in 2005. His research more broadly studies the intersection of law and culture and the ways in which law may be said to be socially organized.