Death Penalty Appeals Process

Anthony Graves was living on death row for almost two decades while being in solitary confinement. While he was proven un-guilty of murder he still has the punishment of eighteen years of living while being mentally and physically dead. After Mr. Graves was let out of prison, he still has to rethink about almost being killed because of a prosecutor that didn’t want to lose her case. How unprofessional could that be, letting someone rot in jail for a crime he didn’t commit, while the prosecutor knew of doubts, but went along like he didn’t hear it. The cost of one’s life is more than all of the money in the world, because once someone is lethally injected, no one can bring them back. Now I am starting to wonder about the death penalty and questioning myself is it fit for the worst of crimes for is it not fit at all. Kerry Max Cook was a former death row inmate that had conversations with Robert Earl Carter, "Anthony, I really believe, is innocent. I'm stunned that an innocent person is this close to execution (Rice,2005), was stated by former death row inmate Cook, that was let off for being proven

Imagine that you are arrested and going to be tried for a crime that you did, or did not, commit. What if you cannot afford the cost of a lawyer? Will you be able to handle the physical and mental toll that all of the appeals have on a person? The death penalty, or capital punishment, is one of the most debated topics in America. It has been used for centuries, but many claim it to be barbaric, and want the practice to end all together. The death penalty should only be used in cases where there is absolute evidence that the criminal is guilty, because life in prison can be an alternative, there are many flaws in the justice system, and it can be a cruel and unusual punishment.

In the United States, 36 states participate in capital punishment in one or more of the five different forms, including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chambers, firing squad, and hanging (“Description of Execution”). After being banned in 1972, several states sought to bring back capital punishment by providing sentence guidelines for both jury and judges when deciding the fit case in which to impose death (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). These guidelines proved the punishment was constitutional under the Eight Amendment, proving it wasn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment under the correct circumstances. Three procedural reforms were approved by the case Gregg vs. Georgia, including bifurcated trials (separating guilt and penalty phases of trial), automatic appellate reviews of court decisions, and proportionality review to help eliminate sentencing disparities (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). Ever since these changes in 1976, the death penalty

Even though it may be the simple way out, the death penalty is very cruel and inhumane. Back hundreds of years ago, the constitution states that everyone has a basic right to live and a freedom of speech. Whereas

Breyer also wrote a dissent in which he argued that the constitutionality of a punishment must be evaluated based on currently prevailing social and legal standards; therefore, the death penalty is no longer constitutional. Justice Breyer pointed to studies that show that the exoneration rate is disproportionately high with capital crimes, which reflects both cases in which the defendant was actually innocent and cases in which there was procedural error; therefore, the death penalty is not reliably applied to cases in which the defendant has been properly convicted of crimes that society harshly condemns. Additionally, studies have shown that factors other than the egregiousness of the crime—such as the races and genders of the defendant and the victim, the location of the crime, and political pressures—influence the imposition of the death penalty, and such arbitrariness results in the punishment being unconstitutionally cruel. Because the imposition of the death penalty requires additional procedural safeguards, there are often long delays between sentencing and execution, if the execution happens at all, which is cruel in and of itself and also divorces the punishment from its punitive purposes of deterrence and retribution. Justice Breyer also argued that the nation has consistently been moving away from the use of the death penalty, to the point that it is used so rarely as to be considered “unusual” for the purpose of the Eighth Amendment. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg joined in the dissent. In her separate dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the district court erred in holding that the use of midazolam did not create a substantial risk of severe pain. Instead, the scientific evidence supports the view that, while midazolam can induce unconsciousness, it is not sufficient to maintain unconsciousness through the effects of the rest of the execution cocktail. Because the petitioners sufficiently demonstrated that the risk of severe

I agree with Steven’s assertion because the death penalty prevents those who are wrongfully convicted of a crime from being released upon evidence that the real suspect has been proven guilty. This brings forth Stevens’s “final, yet fallible” argument. Not only

Much of the court's time could be saved if death row inmates were limited to a set number of appeals in a reasonable amount of time. Facilitating numerous appeals results in many unforeseen costs. In 1992, expenditures on criminal justice activities by all federal, state, and local governments combined reached $299 per capita.(BJS) Ted Bundy's 10 year stay on death row, involving numerous appeals and excessive imprisonment fees, eventually cost the Florida state taxpayers more than $6 million dollars.(Lamar 34) These expenses are unnecessary and unjustifiable and could be alleviated by limiting appeals. In addition to this, public defense expenditures reached a startling $16.4 billion in 1990, which breaks down to about $7 per capita for each case tried in public defense costs alone.(Capital Punishment 1992) Although these figures are for total spending on public defense, it is easy to deduce that by limiting the number of appeals for death row inmates, these figures could be significantly reduced.

“…if we look to the States, in more than 60% there is effectively no death penalty, in an additional 18% an execution is rare and unusual, and 6% (Texas, Missouri, and Florida) account for all executions” (Justice Breyer, p.86). It is quite curious that, even with the option, few states implement capital punishment. “For the reasons I have set forth in this opinion, I believe it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment. At the very least, the Court should call for full briefing on the basic question” (Justice Breyer, p.91).

All criminal defendants are provided certain procedural rights. All procedures must comply with laws protecting defendants' rights even in Texas. The purpose of this paper is give some insight in how Texas processes its criminal defendants when they are convicted of capital murder.

People also say that “serving in lifetime jail” (ProCon) is more “severe” than being held to the death sentence. Another reason people gainsay the death sentence is that “a lot of people with mental disabilities could be condemned” (Editorial Board). Many other people believe that “some people being executed are doing the same thing as people getting away from it” (Editorial Board). Also, people are fighting to stop the death penalty by saying that “the people being executed don’t have enough money to pay for a good attorney” (ProCon). Finally, Justice Breyer, a supreme court associate, has said the “death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment” (Editorial Board) and he has called for the court to question if the death penalty is constitutional at all; furthermore, Breyer believes it's time to send the practice of the death penalty to its “oblivion.”

“Death penalty retentionists now admit that as long as we use the death penalty, innocent defendants will occasionally be executed” (Radelet & Borg, 2000, page 6). This is

Most often the death penalty is used in the United States to punish people that kill children, women or the elderly. The system has been in place for many years, and has evolved from the use of the electric chair and firing squads to the current method, the use of lethal injection. The most common reason innocent people are put to death is because of poor representation; in many cases, inmates get a court appointed lawyer and receive the ultimate sentence, the death penalty. Most court appointed lawyers have poor experience handling these types of cases. Additionally, they often do not believe their client’s innocence. Why should we believe a person’s innocence when the people that are supposed to be on their side don’t even believe them? While the death penalty is a good choice for the worst criminals in the system, the appeals process is so flawed that innocent people often face the ultimate punishment, the death penalty, for a crime they didn’t commit.

Today, there are over three thousand prisoners on death row. “Between 1972 and 1996, 68 death row inmates were released because proof of their innocence was found” (Acker, Bohm, and Lanier 232). Only after struggling

In addition to being racially prejudiced, capital punishment places innocent lives at risk. Recently in Chicago, a black man was released from death row after nearly sixteen years in prison. This man, Anthony Porter, came within two days of receiving a lethal injection, until the courts finally agreed hearing on his mental capacity. Porter was very lucky to receive an excellent attorney who managed to prove that Porter was innocent and led the police to a prisoner in Milwaukee who confessed (Kile). This shows the importance of the appeal process found in the courts, which serve to protect the lives of innocent citizens of the United States of America. A writer for The Christian Century writes, "Porter's case brings to light the very real danger that overzealous prosecutors, sloppy legal work and poor legal defense teams will send people to their deaths for crimes they didn't commit," (Kile). If Porter had an equipped defense attorney from the start, he would never have been to prison and nearly killed. Ryan Cummings of The Economist observed that more crimes are punishable by execution, more states have adopted the death penalty and the appeals process has been shortened. The overall expansion of capital punishment endangers innocent lives. Cumulatively, there is now less time and fewer tools to save innocent men and women

In 1879, the United States Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 9-0, that execution by firing squad was not cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. This began a long debate on whether or not a government reserves the right to punish those who have taken a life by taking their lives. There are many reasons as to why someone would be against capital punishment: it is not our right as humans to play God, it is against the constitution, the threat of capital punishment is not a valid deterrent, it is morally corrupt to take a life. All of these points are valid, and they represent the mindset of millions of Americans; however, capital punishment is a valuable asset to be reserved for only “the most heinous murders and the most brutal and conscienceless murderers” (Alice).