Several different issues must be considered insofar as capital punishment in our country. The Death Penalty today is a multi-faced concern where considerations must be given to the following:
1. The Cost of Capital Punishment
For those focused upon finances and taxpayer dollars, the reality is that sentencing someone to death, rather that LWOP (life without parole), is very, very expensive. LWOP costs less, so why not opt for it? Read:
- Cost of Death Penalty At Appellate Level Gets Some Ohio Media Coverage: The More We Talk Money, The Better
- The High Cost of the Death Penalty: Capital Punishment is Very Expensive
- What is the Actual Cost Involved in the Indigent Defense of a Capital Case?
2. Lethal Injection and Alternative Execution Methods
Over the centuries, the state has used all sorts of methods to end the life of someone deemed worth of death by those in power. Today, lethal injection is the common method used in our country to execute the condemned. However, more and more it is being challenged as cruel and unusual punishment. States do have options on the books that can substitute for lethal injections without any new legislation; among them, firing squads and gas chambers. What is the most humane way to execute someone? For more, see:
- Lethal Injection Drugs: SCOTUS Dissent Questions Midazolam
- Lethal Injection: If Its Not the Chemicals, Its the Method
- Florida Execution by Firing Squads or Electric Chair; Legislation Seeks to End Lethal Injection Method of Execution
- Firing Squad, Gas Chamber, Electrocution for Executions?
3. Mental Illness and Intellectual Capacity
Mental illness must be considered not only at the time of the crime for which the condemned has been sentenced to die, but also at the time the execution is scheduled to take place. A similar concept, but distinct from psychological issues, is the lack of understanding and comprehension that goes along with intellectual limitations. Should someone who is mentally ill or intellectually challenged be executed? Read:
- Mental Illness and the Death Penalty: When Insanity Becomes an Issue
- New ABA Report on Mental Illness and Death Penalty: Show Them The Money
- Mental Illness and the Death Penalty
- SCOTUS rules on Intellectual Disability Test for Death Penalty
- Texas Use of the “Lennie Standard” for Mental Competency in Death Penalty
- U.S. Supreme Court Deciding Major Death Penalty Case Regarding Intellectual Ability and Capital Punishment: the Case of Freddie L. Hall
4. Race and Gender
Studies time and again reveal that the race of those sitting on our country’s Death Rows does not jive with the racial percentages of our population. Why not? And what about gender? Women on Death Row are another controversial issue to be considered. Read:
- Race and the Death Penalty: New Report on Government Misconduct and Wrongful Convictions by NRE
- Race and the Death Penalty: September 2020 Report from Death Penalty Information Center
- Sister Helen Prejean on Race and the Death Penalty (DPIC on Pinterest)
- Women on Death Row Documentary Available Free Online
- Virginia Will Execute Teresa Lewis Tonight Absent a Miracle, My Comments to the Palm Beach Post
- When I was on Nancy Grace last week, talking about the Casey Anthony case.
5. Prosecutors and the Death Penalty
The power of prosecutors in death penalty cases cannot be underestimated. First, it is the prosecutor who makes the decision to seek capital punishment at the trial level. Second, it is the prosecutor who tries the case and determines what evidence is presented at trial (both guilt and penalty phases). Finally, it is the prosecutor who has the ability to sway to results through ineptitude or immorality concerning the underlying investigation and discovery process. See:
- Moratorium on Death Penalty: California’s Lesson on Prosecutorial Power in Capital Cases
- Did Prosecutorial Misconduct in Texas Lead to Execution of Innocent Man?
- Report Released on Judge Who Had Private Communications with Prosecutor During Death Penalty Trial: Result, Suspension
- Report: 5 Prosecutors total 440 Death Penalty Sentences
- Here’s One Way to Stop the Death Penalty: Have the Prosecutor Take It Off the Table
- Terry Lenamon Shares His Thoughts About New Film “West of Memphis”: Every Judge, Prosecutor, and Capital Defense Lawyer Needs to See This Movie
6. Effective Defense Counsel
Finally, the defense lawyer who represents the individual who is being tried in a case where the state is seeking the Death Penalty has an enormous responsibility. He or she must advocate in both a guilt-or-innocent trial as well as advancing mitigating factors in any subsequent penalty phase. It is a tremendous burden, professionally and personally. There is also the added pressure of financing. Capital cases demand cost expenditures that quickly add up, from expert analysis for factual issues at trial to mitigating considerations at the sentencing hearing. Read:
- Florida Supreme Court: How Victory of Lenamon Client Michael James Jackson Impacts Future Death Penalty Defense
- Death Penalty and SCOTUS: Today’s Decision and the Capital Defense Lawyer (McCoy v. Louisiana)
- Death Penalty Defense Lawyers: There’s a Continuum
- Trial Lawyers College Interview with TLC Faculty Member Terry Lenamon: Trying the Death Penalty Case
- The Checklist for Death Penalty Qualified Criminal Defense Attorneys in Florida
- The Cost of a Life: Representing the Indigent Accused of Crimes in Florida Courts Today
- Casey Anthony Case Continues to Teach Public on Indigent Death Penalty Defense Costs & Public Hearing on May 6.