Death Penalty
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Chapter17death.pptxThe Death Penalty
Chapter 17
In This Chapter
Capital Punishment in Context
Supreme Court Decisions
Research on Capital Murder Trials
Racial Disparities and the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty as a Deterrent to Murder
Errors and Mistakes in Death Penalty Cases
Capital Punishment in Context
Statistics
U.S. one of few countries with death penalty
32 states, federal government, military authorize use of death penalty
Four states responsible for 59% of all U.S. executions since 1976: TX, OK, FL, VA; only for aggravated murder
Texas account for 38%
Under federal law, capital crimes include treason, espionage, murder in government official, using WMD
Supreme Court Decisions
Methods
Lethal injections, gas, electrocution, hanging, firing squad
Executions are rare
Perception of strong public support for the death penalty
Influences decision-making of politicians
Occasionally used by the Supreme Court as an indicator of prevailing “standards of decency” among the American public
Death penalty is costly
Supreme Court Decisions
Constitutional Challenges (Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments)
Furman v. Georgia (1972): United States Supreme Court unconstitutional as then administered
Gregg v. Georgia (1976): Guided discretion; bifurcated proceedings
Atkins v. Virginia (2002): Eliminated death sentence for execution of mentally retarded prisoners
Ring v. Arizona (2002): Only jury can make decisions regarding capital punishment
Roper v. Simmons (2005): Prohibits execution of juveniles
Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008): Prohibits execution for child rapist, unless child dies
Baze V, Rees (2008): Lethal injection does not inflect unnecessary or wanton pain
HOT TOPIC
Should we execute the elderly?
Most inmates die of natural causes on death row before they are sent to the execution chamber.
Long delays due to appeal process in capital cases.
Graying of death row presents legal and ethical challenges.
Is it cruel to keep someone under threat of death for extended period of time?
Are aging and disability ever relevant in consideration of commuting a death sentence?
What do you think?
Research on Capital Murder Trials
Death qualification of jurors
During voir dire jurors asked if they can vote for the death penalty as result of guilty plea
Death qualified jurors more likely to convict
Penalty phase
Aggravating/mitigating factors unclear to jurors
Jurors unclear how to weigh these factors
Research on Capital Murder Trials
Defendant race and jury instruction type
Clearer, simplified instruction related to better comprehension and significantly reduced bias
Process of jury deliberation may increase tendency of white jurors to send black defendants to death
Revised jury instructions that take into account basic principles of cognitive psychology and psycholinguistics can help capital jurors choose between life and death.
Racial Disparities and the Death Penalty
Pre-Civil War: “The Black Codes”
Blacks could be executed for theft; whites could not
Race of offender and victim is best predictor of death penalty
Between 1930 and 1967, 455 men were executed for rape
89% were black
1977 Coker v. Georgia Supreme Court case
Death penalty disproportionately severe for rape
Racial Disparities and the Death Penalty
Race has an impact at several stages in the legal process
African American defendant more likely to be charged with capital murder and more likely to be sentenced to death and executed
Race of victim influences prosecutor decision to seek death penalty
41% of prisoners on death row are African American
Racial Disparities and the Death Penalty
McClesky v. Kemp (1987) Supreme Court
Some unfairness is tolerable and inevitable because discretion is inescapable in capital sentencing
To overturn death sentence because of racial bias, evidence must prove that jurors acted with discriminatory purpose.
Critics suggest that legal standard for death penalty higher than what is needed to discrimination in housing or employment
Death Penalty as a Deterrent
Deterrence theory posits that potential murders will be restrained by possibility of execution
But
Murderers do not think rationally
Murderers usually under influence of substances
Murderers do not believe they will be caught and executed
Death Penalty as a Deterrent
Deterrence theory not upheld
States with death penalty have higher rates of murder than those without the death penalty
Capital punishment does not suppress murder rate
Brutalization effect
Executions usually stimulate small increase in murders
Stronger for highly publicized executions
Errors and Mistakes in Death Penalty Cases
Overview
68% of death sentences reversed due to errors at trial
At retrial, 82% given lesser punishment; 7% found not guilty
Causes of error
ncompetent attorneys
-misleading jury instructions
-prosecutorial misconduct
Since 1900
416 people wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death:23 executed
DNA evidence-140 people exonerated
Errors and Mistakes in Death Penalty Cases
Overview
68% of death sentences reversed due to errors at trial
At retrial, 82% given lesser punishment; 7% found not guilty
Causes of error
Police error
Incompetent attorneys
Misleading jury instructions
Prosecutorial misconduct
Since 1900
416 people wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death:23 executed
DNA evidence-140 people exonerated
