Death penalty Flashcards
Procedural safeguards for death penalty cases
- Narrowly-define category of death-eligible cases
- Separate guilt & penalty proceedings (bifurcated trial)
- Direct appeal to the state’s highest supreme court
- Guided Discretion Statutes (Balancing statutes, Threshold statutes, Special sentencing considerations)
Evolving standards of decency
Reserved for “the worst of the worst offenders”
Atkins v. Virginia (2002): unconstitutional to execute defendants with intellectual disabilities.
- IQ < 70
- Impediments in adaptive behaviors
- Prior to age 18
Roper v. Simmons (2005): struck down the death penalty for juveniles under the age of 18.
Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008): unconstitutional to allow the death penalty for the rape of a child where the victim did not die.
Capital jury selection
Voir dire: questioning of a prospective juror by a judge or attorney to determine whether the individual is qualified to serve on a jury
Peremptory challenges: allows dismissal of a prospective juror without needing to provide a reason
- Statutorily limited in number and vary by jurisdiction
- Prosecutor tends to get greater # compared to defense
Batson v. Kentucky (1986): prosecutor used peremptory challenges to strike all 4 black jurors from panel
- Without identifying “race neutral” reasons for those strikes, the prosecutor’s actions were unconstitutional
Death Qualification: eliminate potential jurors who are not willing to vote for the death penalty
- Not representative of the general population
- Not cross-section of the community
- Not a jury of defendant’s peers
Appeals process
Direct appeal: State Supreme Court automatically reviews all death sentences imposed
- Procedural errors at the trial or sentencing (7 out of 10)
- The evidence fails to support the finding of an aggravating factor
If conviction and sentence are upheld, defendant may petition for writ of certiorari review to U.S. Supreme Court
If case is remanded, a new death sentence could be imposed and the appeals process begins again.
