Chapter 14 Capital Punishment & the Death Row Inmate 1

Capital Punishment as a Sentence  The ultimate disposition in sentencing is the decision by the court to take the life of a convicted defendant  Today, the legal codes of more than thirty states permit the death penalty  More than 3,000 prisoners on death row; less than 50 executions are carried out each year 2

The Death Penalty in Contemporary Society  Public opinion and political support drive the death penalty in the U.S.  Most death row inmates are southern males, frequently intellectually limited, academically deficient, developmental histories of trauma, family disruption, and substance abuse  The rates of psychological disorder among death row inmates are high 3

The Death Penalty in Contemporary Society  Lethal injection is now the predominant method of execution  American public opinion on the death penalty shifted dramatically during the twentieth century  While a majority of citizens support the use of the death penalty, when presented the option of life without parole, there is less support for the death penalty 4

The Death Penalty in Contemporary Society  Political support Politicians seem to take varying positions influenced by perceptions of displeasing voters, but increasingly informed by the revelations of faulty legal procedures and the exoneration of some death row inmates based on DNA evidence  The trend worldwide is to abolish the death penalty 5

The Death Penalty in Contemporary Society  Death penalty appeals After an offender is convicted he or she enters the punishment phase where the jury will decide on the death penalty or life in prison The convicted defendant in a capital case will begin a process of lengthy appeals in both state courts and then federal appeals court A number of reasons exist why the review process takes ten or more years from conviction to execution – Possibility of Error – Complex Process – Appellate Delay 6

Legality of the Death Penalty  While considered cruel by many, its lengthy and consistent use does not make it unusual  Use of discretion Aggravation Mitigation  Furman v. Georgia (1972) 7

Legality of the Death Penalty  Gregg v. Georgia (1976)  Pulley v. Harris (1984)  Kansas v. March (2006)  Since its resumption, the Court has dealt with a number of critical issues defining when, how and with whom the death penalty can be employed

Legality of the Death Penalty  Most states have discontinued use of traditional methods of execution such as hanging and the electric chair and now rely on lethal injection  Although the Supreme Court was not swayed by charges of racial bias in the McKleskey v. Kemp decision, it has ruled that jury selection cannot be tainted by racial bias 9

Legality of the Death Penalty  In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Supreme Court ruled that execution of the mentally retarded was unconstitutional  In Ford v. Wainwright (1986), the Supreme Court had ruled this for those mentally ill, because the accused person must understand that he or she has been sentenced to death and the reasoning behind this decision 10

Legality of the Death Penalty  In Thompson v. Oklahoma (1988) the court ruled that the 8 th and 14 th amendments disallowed the execution of an offender under the age of sixteen  In Stanford v. Kentucky (1989) the court ruled the execution of a seventeen-year-old was constitutional  In Roper v. Simmons (2005) the U.S. Supreme Court that disallowed the execution of juveniles who committed a capital crime under the age of eighteen

Administrative Issues and the Death Penalty  A death-qualified jury means that any individual opposed to the death penalty must be removed during voir dire Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968) Lockhart v. McCree (1986)

Working on Death Row  The conditions on death row vary among the states that house condemned prisoners  Meals are usually served in condemned prisoners’ cells  If inmates are permitted to purchase a TV, they may do so but generally can receive only local channels  Inmates generally live in windowless cells  Attorneys can almost always visit five or more times each week, and condemned prisoners can have one or two family visits a week 13

Working on Death Row  A group of correctional officers and supervisors are responsible for inmates on death row. The officers believe they are doing their job and they typically treat the inmates decently  Inmates are transferred to another facility before execution  execution team—The team that takes place in the official act of putting an inmate to death 14

Living on Death Row  Four inmates’ responses to death row: Some continue to reiterate their innocence, and they may even go to their execution claiming innocence. Some focus on legal appeals and court work; Some have a religious experience and adopt a new religious identity. Some become quite depressed, ruminating over struggles and difficulties of adjusting to death row. 15

Does the Death Penalty Deter Murder?  Defenders of the death penalty claim that this punishment is justified because it provides incapacitation and is a deterrent to murder  Empirical research methods have been employed: Immediate impact studies Time-series analysis Contiguous-state analysis 16

Does the Death Penalty Deter Murder?  The majority of researchers have failed to find any deterrent effect of the death penalty.  However newer studies, using sophisticated data analysis, have been able to uncover a more significant association