Capital Punishment

USA

International ContextInternational Context•United States is unique among Western industrialized countries.

•In 1999, Amnesty International reported that 86% of all known executions took place in the Congo, China, Iran and the United States.

• Many countries now consider capital punishment to be a human rights violation and refuse to extradite someone who may be executed in the United States.

Death Penalty Policy By State

STATES WITH THE DEATH PENALTY

AlabamaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIndianaIllinoisKansasKentucky

LouisianaMarylandMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew York *North CarolinaOhioOklahoma

OregonPennsylvaniaSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVirginiaWashingtonWyoming

ALSO- U.S. Gov't- U.S. Military

* The New York (6/24) death penalty statute was declared unconstitutional in 2004.

STATES WITHOUT THE DEATH PENALTY

AlaskaHawaiiIowaMaineMassachusetts

MichiganMinnesotaNorth DakotaRhode IslandVermont

West VirginiaWisconsin

ALSO- Dist. of Columbia

Executions in the U.S.

Executions in the United StatesExecutions in the United States

Over two-thirds of executions occur in Texas;

History of C.P. the United History of C.P. the United StatesStates

• Has been used since colonial times; first recorded execution was in 1608. Was initially conducted in the open; was a public event, often accompanied by celebration and, later, riots.

•1930‐1967: Nearly 4,000 people were executed.

Of these, over half (54%) were black, 45% were white. Three out of five executions during this period took place in the southern U.S. states.

• In 1972‐‐Furman v. Georgia—Supreme Court ruled that:• The death penalty as practiced in Georgia was a violation of the 8th Amendment, which bans cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the 14th Amendment.

• In response, Georgia, Texas, and Florida allowed sentencing courts the discretion to impose death sentences for specified crimes and provided for two‐stage, or bifurcated, trials.• In 1976 the Court reinstated the death penalty after a ten year moratorium. Since 1977 over 650 people have been executed by the U.S. government.

Death row inmates in the U.S. typically spend over a decade awaiting execution. Death row inmates in the U.S. typically spend over a decade awaiting execution. Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years.Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years.

During this time, they are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from During this time, they are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as much as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.visitation and exercise, spending as much as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.

This raises the question of whether death row prisoners are receiving two distinct This raises the question of whether death row prisoners are receiving two distinct punishments: the death sentence itself, and the years of living in conditions punishments: the death sentence itself, and the years of living in conditions tantamount to solitary confinement – a severe form of punishment that may be tantamount to solitary confinement – a severe form of punishment that may be used only for very limited periods for general-population prisoners.used only for very limited periods for general-population prisoners.

Moreover, unlike general-population prisoners, even in solitary confinement, death-Moreover, unlike general-population prisoners, even in solitary confinement, death-row inmates live in a state of constant uncertainty over when they will be executed. row inmates live in a state of constant uncertainty over when they will be executed. For some death row inmates, this isolation and anxiety results in a sharp For some death row inmates, this isolation and anxiety results in a sharp deterioration in their mental status. deterioration in their mental status.

Death row inmates in the U.S. typically spend over a decade awaiting Death row inmates in the U.S. typically spend over a decade awaiting execution. Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 execution. Some prisoners have been on death row for well over 20 years.years.

During this time, they are generally isolated from other prisoners, During this time, they are generally isolated from other prisoners, excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and excluded from prison educational and employment programs, and sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as much sharply restricted in terms of visitation and exercise, spending as much as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.as 23 hours a day alone in their cells.

This raises the question of whether death row prisoners are receiving This raises the question of whether death row prisoners are receiving two distinct punishments: the death sentence itself, and the years of two distinct punishments: the death sentence itself, and the years of living in conditions tantamount to solitary confinement – a severe form living in conditions tantamount to solitary confinement – a severe form of punishment that may be used only for very limited periods for of punishment that may be used only for very limited periods for general-population prisoners.general-population prisoners.

Moreover, unlike general-population prisoners, even in solitary Moreover, unlike general-population prisoners, even in solitary confinement, death-row inmates live in a state of constant uncertainty confinement, death-row inmates live in a state of constant uncertainty over when they will be executed. For some death row inmates, this over when they will be executed. For some death row inmates, this isolation and anxiety results in a sharp deterioration in their mental isolation and anxiety results in a sharp deterioration in their mental status. status.

IssuesIssuesTime on Death RowTime on Death Row

Deterrence (General)Deterrence (General)

• Cross‐sectional studies

‐compare states & countries with and without the death penalty.

States/countries with capital punishment do not have lower homicide rates.

• Longitudinal studies—analyse consequences of adoption or abolition.

Homicides Homicides increase with the increase with the adoption of C.P adoption of C.P and decrease with and decrease with abolitionabolition

IncapacitationIncapacitation

Obviously, an incapacitative effect occurs.

But this can be achieved in other ways for truly dangerous offenders.

•Also, most murders are situational.

•Most people convicted of homicide are first time offenders. Serial killers are responsible for an average of 50‐60 murders per year, less than ¼ of 1% of all homicides.

•Of 240 death row convicts who were released in the 1970s, only 1 killed again.

Retribution

Question: Why is this idea applied only in the case of murder?

Don’t require that rapists be raped. Or that robbers be robbed.

•Psychological studies indicate that imposing death does not provide closure or reduce grief.

Fiscal Costs

It costs a lot to keep people in prison for extended periods.

It also costs a lot to try and appeal capital cases.

•CA state government estimates that it costs $5 million to execute and $1 million to imprison for life.

Public Opinion

•About 75% of Americans report being in favour of the death penalty. But:

If they have the option of being undecided, support drops to about 60%.

When told it has no deterrent effect, support drops to about 55%.

62% say they are comfortable with life in prison as an alternative to death.

Race and the Death Penalty

All studies on the subject have found that blacks are significantly more likely to be sentenced to death than whites, especially if the victim was white.

Innocence

• Many innocent people have been sentenced to death and even executed.

• Many states do not provide financial assistance to capital defendants to appeal their convictions.

The Innocence Project (157 exonerated): http://www.innocenceproject.org/ Sources of Mistakes: 2 DNA Inclusions at Time of Trial 6 Other Forensic Inclusions

15 False Confessions 16Informants / Snitches

17 False Witness Testimony 21 Microscopic Hair Comparison

Matches 23 Bad Lawyering 26 Defective or Fraudulent

Science 34 Prosecutorial Misconduct 38 Police Misconduct 40 Serology Inclusion 61 Mistaken I.D.

The Case of Roger Keith Coleman

• Convicted of killing his sister‐in‐law; scheduled to die in 1992.

•After trial, exculpatory evidence was discovered. But the U.S. Court refused to halt the execution:

•Coleman’s attorneys had missed a deadline by 3 days.•And because the SC has ruled that the federal courts must only rule on legal, not evidentiary, issues.•Coleman was executed as scheduled.

• SC Justice Blackmun: “The execution of a person who can show he is innocent comes perilously close to murder.”

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