The Death Penalty

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Chapter 20

• The Death Penalty

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the entrance to death rowSan Quentin, California
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womens death rowCentral California Womens
Facility
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capital punishment debatethe PRO side

• moral arguments
• retribution calls for death penalty
• utilitarian arguments (deterrence)
• 200 studies most--no evidence of deterrence
• Peterson Bailey murder rates were higher in
  states with death penalty than in adjacent states
  without it
• Lempert confirmed no effect
• Ehrich each execution between 1933 1969
  prevented between 7 8 murders
• National Academy of Sciences reanalyzed data
  dismissed findings
• economic arguments
• death penalty is less expensive than life
  imprisonment
• ?

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capital punishment debate the CON side

• moral arguments
• capital punishment is not moral
• state does not have the right to take a life
• utilitarian arguments (deterrence)
• no convincing evidence that capital punishment
  deters
• many capital crimes cannot be deterred
• drug/alcohol-based, psychological disturbance,
  rage
• economic arguments
• death penalty more expensive than life sentence
• extra 216,000 to prosecute 2.16 million to
  execute
• other arguments
• mistakes are unavoidable irreversible
• death sentence imposed in unfair discriminatory
  way
• eg, by race, jurisdiction, even politics (see
  Houston)
• eg, 1,000 murders to 1 execution

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public opinion death penalty

• nearly 3/4 Americans support death penalty.
• majority have supported it since Gallup survey
  first asked about it in 1936
• only exception was 1960 - 1965
• support generally risen over last 35 years
• important note on survey methodology
• support level depends on how question worded
• when offered alternative to capital punishment,
  many supporters opt for the alternative
• life without possibility of parole
• gt20 shift to opposition, when given this
  option
• life, in addition to restitution to the victim

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states with death penalty
NO death penalty
WITH death penalty
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death penaltyby the numbers

• 270 death sentences are pronounced yearly
• compared to 22,000 yearly arrests for murder
  non-negligent manslaughter
• persons on death row exceeds 3,700
• 54 women are on death row
• 722 executions from 1976 - July, 2001
• yearly executions generally gt 74 since 1976

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Furman v. Georgia, 1972

• U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty,
  as administered, constituted cruel and unusual
  punishment, in violation of the 8th Amendment to
  the U.S. Constitution
• invalidated death penalty laws of 39 states
  D.C.
• 35 states re-enacted laws
• issue returned to Supreme Court...

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Gregg v. Georgia, 1976

• U.S. Supreme Court upheld death penalty laws
  which
• required the sentencing judge or jury to take
  into account specific aggravating and mitigating
  circumstances in deciding which convicted murders
  should be sentenced to death, and which
• authorized a bifurcated proceeding (trial to
  determine guilt and a separate hearing
  exclusively to determine penalty)

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McCleskey v. Kemp, 1987

• U.S. Supreme Court rejected a constitutional
  challenge (to Georgias death penalty law) on the
  grounds of racial discrimination
• attorney cited rigorous research showing the
  application of the death sentence in Georgia was
  racially biased.
• Court rejected claim (5-4 vote), ruling
• in cases alleging racial discrimination,
  defendant has to prove decision makers acted with
  a discriminatory purpose in that specific case.
• statistical evidence showing discrimination
  throughout the state was not adequate proof.
• McKleskey executed in 1991

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legal issues re capital punishment
execution of insane
counsel
execution of juveniles
populations processes
appeals
execution of retarded
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Ford v. Wainwright, 1986

• U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 8th Amendment
  prohibited the state from executing the
  incompetent the accused must comprehend both the
  fact that he has been sentenced to death and
  reason for it.
• accused was delusional, claiming KKK was part of
  a conspiracy to get him to commit suicide
• Court ruled there is no deterrent or retributive
  value to executing the mentally disturbed
• idea is offensive to humanity

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execution of juveniles

• minimum age for execution varies by state
• 8 states dont specify
• in some, age is same as juvenile waiver age
• 84 males on death row who were lt 18 (at time of
  offense)
• Thompson v. Oklahoma, 1988
• decided that William Thompson, 15 when he
  committed murder, could not be executed
• Sanford v. Kentucky Wilkins v. Missouri, 1989
• offenders aged 16 and 17 can be executed

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execution of the retarded

• 360 offenders on death row are retarded
• the retarded account for 10 of executions
• Penry v. Lynaugh, 1989
• Supreme Court held 8th Amendment does NOT
  prohibit execution of the mentally retarded
• Penry was a convicted killer with an IQ of 56 and
  mental capacity of a 7-year-old.

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habeas corpus petition

• a writ requesting a court to review the
  conditions of incarceration or the basis of
  detention
• habeas corpus is the only means by which a
  federal court can hear challenges by state
  inmates to their convictions and/or sentences
• before an inmate may file a complaint in federal
  court, he must exhaust all the administrative
  remedies that the state courts make available to
  him.

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appeals

• average time sentence--execution 7- 8 yrs
• recent moves to limit that interval
• McCleskey v. Zant, 1991, Supreme Court
• except in exceptional circumstances, lower
  federal courts must dismiss prisoners second and
  subsequent habeas corpus petitions.
• 1993 Supreme Court offender who presents belated
  evidence of innocence not necessarily entitled to
  new hearing in federal court evidence must be
  truly persuasive
• Anti-Terrorism Effective Death Penalty Act,
  1996
• death row inmates must file habeas corpus
  petition within one year

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counsel

• appointed counsel often receive small fees
• eg, 1,000 per case 20/hr (Alab.) 11.75/hr
  (Miss.)
• Stickland v. Washington, 1984, Supreme Crt
• defendant has a right to representation that
  meets an objective standard of reasonableness
• accused must show that there is a reasonable
  probability that, but for counsels
  unprofessional errors, the result of the
  proceeding would have been different.

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where death penalty imposed
of all death sentences imposed
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where executions happen, 1976 - July, 2001
722 executions carried out since 1976
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inmates on death rowby race