Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 25, 2006 0:44:54 GMT -5
A Faulty Death Penalty
Even those who want Florida to retain the death penalty must take
seriously the American Bar Association's multi-count indictment of the
state's capital-punishment system.
Few issues in the study, which the ABA released last week, are new. This
report, however, raises them all. For critics of the system, among them
this newspaper, the collective weight of the problems is reason enough for
Florida to abolish capital punishment. For death-penalty supporters,
however, the continued refusal to fix the problems effectively will
eliminate capital punishment because so many death sentences won't stand
up in court.
The study begins with the most searing evidence of the system's failures:
Nearly two dozen Death Row inmates in Florida have been exonerated, the
most in any state. The state has achieved that terrible distinction
through prosecutorial misconduct, a pro-death-penalty bias throughout the
justice system and political pandering by judges, who in 20 % of the
nearly 900 death sentences between 1972 and 1999 overrode the jury's
recommendation of a life sentence.
Eliminating that override is one proposal in the ABA study. The Supreme
Court also noted flaws in states where juries get the final word on
conviction but not on sentencing. Another jury-related problem is that
Florida requires a 12-0 vote to convict but just a 7-5 majority to
recommend a death sentence. Finally, the study notes that juries don't
always understand how to weigh exacerbating and mitigating factors that
determine whether a defendant gets death or life.
Another comprehensive problem is the state's complicity in denying Death
Row inmates adequate legal representation. The study notes that the
Legislature has set laughably low standards for lawyers who want to argue
capital cases. The result, said Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul
Cantero, has been "some of the worst lawyering" he's seen. In addition,
the Legislature and Gov. Bush have been especially cheap when it comes to
paying Death Row lawyers. To handle a case, according to professional
estimates, requires about 3,300 hours of work. The state, though, has
appropriated money for just 800 hours, at only $100 per hour. Lawyers who
ask for more can be punished.
Other problems include a too-secret clemency process and racial disparity;
killing a white person is more likely to bring a death sentence than
killing a black person. Florida at least has done better on preservation
of evidence and DNA testing, which has forced several recent releases from
death row.
The study notes other, familiar problems. A death sentence costs much
more, because of legal fees and court time, than a sentence of life
without parole. Capital punishment cases make up just 3 % of all criminal
cases, but they make up roughly half of the Florida Supreme Court's
caseload. And there is insufficient oversight of how prosecutors handle
capital cases.
On the study assessment team were supporters and opponents of capital
punishment. They agree on the need for change. If Florida insists on
having the death penalty, Florida must insist on reducing the chance of
killing innocent people.
(source: Editorial, Palm Beach Post)
Even those who want Florida to retain the death penalty must take
seriously the American Bar Association's multi-count indictment of the
state's capital-punishment system.
Few issues in the study, which the ABA released last week, are new. This
report, however, raises them all. For critics of the system, among them
this newspaper, the collective weight of the problems is reason enough for
Florida to abolish capital punishment. For death-penalty supporters,
however, the continued refusal to fix the problems effectively will
eliminate capital punishment because so many death sentences won't stand
up in court.
The study begins with the most searing evidence of the system's failures:
Nearly two dozen Death Row inmates in Florida have been exonerated, the
most in any state. The state has achieved that terrible distinction
through prosecutorial misconduct, a pro-death-penalty bias throughout the
justice system and political pandering by judges, who in 20 % of the
nearly 900 death sentences between 1972 and 1999 overrode the jury's
recommendation of a life sentence.
Eliminating that override is one proposal in the ABA study. The Supreme
Court also noted flaws in states where juries get the final word on
conviction but not on sentencing. Another jury-related problem is that
Florida requires a 12-0 vote to convict but just a 7-5 majority to
recommend a death sentence. Finally, the study notes that juries don't
always understand how to weigh exacerbating and mitigating factors that
determine whether a defendant gets death or life.
Another comprehensive problem is the state's complicity in denying Death
Row inmates adequate legal representation. The study notes that the
Legislature has set laughably low standards for lawyers who want to argue
capital cases. The result, said Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul
Cantero, has been "some of the worst lawyering" he's seen. In addition,
the Legislature and Gov. Bush have been especially cheap when it comes to
paying Death Row lawyers. To handle a case, according to professional
estimates, requires about 3,300 hours of work. The state, though, has
appropriated money for just 800 hours, at only $100 per hour. Lawyers who
ask for more can be punished.
Other problems include a too-secret clemency process and racial disparity;
killing a white person is more likely to bring a death sentence than
killing a black person. Florida at least has done better on preservation
of evidence and DNA testing, which has forced several recent releases from
death row.
The study notes other, familiar problems. A death sentence costs much
more, because of legal fees and court time, than a sentence of life
without parole. Capital punishment cases make up just 3 % of all criminal
cases, but they make up roughly half of the Florida Supreme Court's
caseload. And there is insufficient oversight of how prosecutors handle
capital cases.
On the study assessment team were supporters and opponents of capital
punishment. They agree on the need for change. If Florida insists on
having the death penalty, Florida must insist on reducing the chance of
killing innocent people.
(source: Editorial, Palm Beach Post)