Death Penalty Lecture Flashcards
Which of the following statements is correct?
A) The AAPL ethical guidelines prohibit psychiatrists from conducting competency to be sentenced evaluations
B) The AMA guidelines state that physicians should not participate in executions.
C) The APA guidelines prohibit a psychiatrist from providing psychiatric treatment to a patient incompetent to be executed
D) AAPL guidelines state that it is unethical for a psychiatrist to provide psychiatric treatment to a patient found incompetent to be executed
B) The AMA guidelines state that physicians should not participate in executions.
All of the following cases dealt with psychiatric testimony at the sentencing phase except:
A) Ake v. Oklahoma
B) Estelle v. Smith
C) Barefoot v. Estelle
D) Ford v. Wainwright
E) Buck v. Davis
D) Ford v. Wainwright - 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of insane prisoners
Which of the following is Ford v. Wainwright?
A) execution of the mentally retarded is unconstitutional
B) The 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of the insane
C) Juvenile death penalty violates the 8th Amendment
B) The 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of the insane
Which of the following is Atkins v. Virginia?
A) execution of the mentally retarded is unconstitutional
B) The 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of the insane
C) Juvenile death penalty violates the 8th Amendment
A) execution of the mentally retarded is unconstitutional
Which of the following is Roper v. Simmons?
A) execution of the mentally retarded is unconstitutional
B) The 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of the insane
C) Juvenile death penalty violates the 8th Amendment
C) Juvenile death penalty violates the 8th Amendment
In which of the following cases did the US Supreme Court hold that an inmate’s right against self-incrimination had been violated when a psychiatrist conducted a competency-to-stand trial evaluation and later used information obtained at a sentencing hearing?
A) Barefoot v. Estelle
B) Moore v. Texas
C) Chavez v. U.S.
D) Estelle v. Smith
E) Payne v. Tennessee
D) Estelle v. Smith
Which of the following cases dealt with a psychiatrist’s ability to predict future dangerousness at capital sentencing hearings based on hypothetical questions?
A) Barefoot v. Estelle
B) Buck v. Davis
C) Chavez v. US
D) Estelle v. Smith
E) Payne v. Tennessee
A) Barefoot v. Estelle
Which of the following is incorrect regarding the use of victim impact statements at the sentencing phase of a capital trial?
A) The use of victim impact statements does not violate the 8th Amendment
B) In Payne v. Tennessee, the USSC held that the prosecutor could make comments regarding the impact of the crime on the victims
C) In Payne v. TN, the USSC upheld their ruling in Booth v. Maryland
D) In Payne v. TN, one issue was whether a surviving child victim’s testimony on the impact of the death of his mother should be allowed.
E) Payne v. Tennessee overturned Booth v. Maryland, thus violating the principle of “stare decisis”
C) In Payne v. TN, the USSC upheld their ruling in Booth v. Maryland
All of the following statements regarding the death penalty are correct except?
A) The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs has recommended that competency to be executed psychiatric examinations should not be seen as participation in executions
B) In State v. Perry, the USSC found that involuntary treatment with medication to restore competency represented cruel and unusual punishment
C) In the case of Hall v. Florida, the USSC held that Florida’s statutory scheme for determining intellectual disability was unconstitutional
D) The APA Council on Judicial and Ethical Affairs has included the role of attending or observing an execution as a physician as “participating” in the execution.
B) In State v. Perry, the USSC found that involuntary treatment with medication to restore competency represented cruel and unusual punishment
All of the following were reasons cited by the majority court for holding that execution of the mentally retarded was unconstitutional in the case of Atkins v. Virginia EXCEPT:
A) Mentally retarded inmates did not have the same degree of culpability as non-retarded offenders
B) An increasing number of state legislatures had banned execution of the mentally retarded
C) Mentally retarded offenders were, by definition, incompetent to be executed.
D) Polls of society’s attitude regarding the execution of the mentally retarded had shifted in the direction of opposing the execution of those who are mentally retarded.
E) None of the above.
C) Mentally retarded offenders were, by definition, incompetent to be executed.
In Singleton v. Norris, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals held:
A) Forced medication of a mentally ill inmate under the Harper standard violates due process once an execution date is set.
B) Forced medication of a mentally ill inmate under the Harper standard does not violate due process once an execution date is set.
C) Because of the liberty interests involved, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that forced medications are required.
D) A State violates an “insane” inmate’s 8th Amendment constitutional rights when the inmate becomes competent to be executed through the provision of medical care.
E) None of the above.
E)
B) Forced medication of a mentally ill inmate under the Harper standard does not violate due process once an execution date is set.
Which of the following answers is correct in the case of Roper V. Simmons?
A) The USSC refused to grant cert because the constitutionality of executing juveniles had already been addressed in Stanford v. Kentucky.
B) The SC of Missouri upheld the death sentence of Christopher Simmons following the USSC’s decision in Stanford v. Kentucky.
C) The USSC held that the execution of juveniles was not unconstitutional per se and needed to be considered on a case-by-case basis.
D) The USSC stated that one reason that the juvenile death penalty was unconstitutional was that juveniles were less morally culpable than the “worst offenders.” Therefore, the death penalty was not warranted.
D) The USSC stated that one reason that the juvenile death penalty was unconstitutional was that juveniles were less morally culpable than the “worst offenders.” Therefore, the death penalty was not warranted.
Which of the following answers is incorrect in the case of Panetti v. Quarterman?
A) Mr. Panetti shot and killed his wife’s parents in front of his wife and daughter.
B) The USSC held that the state court failed to provide the procedures to which Mr. Panetti was entitled under the Consitution.
C) The USSC held that the 5th Circuit employed an improperly restrictive test of competency to be executed when it considered Mr. Panetti’s claim of incompetency
D) The USSC articulated a clear standard when evaluating competency to be executed.
E) The USSC cited their prior ruling in Ford v. Wainwright
D) The USSC articulated a clear standard when evaluating competency to be executed.
What was the USSC’s ruling in Buck v. Davis?
A) The psychologist’s testimony regarding the relationship of gender and dangerousness was only a minor component of the presented testimony and, therefore, did not result in ineffective assistance of counsel
B) The Texas standard for intellectual disability inappropriately relied on an outdated 1992 standard and outdated Briseno factors.
C) Psychiatrists and psychologists cannot present “ultimate issue” testimony regarding future dangerousness.
D) Mr. Buck’s attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by allowing the defense expert to opine that being black was a risk factor for future dangerousness.
D) Mr. Buck’s attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by allowing the defense expert to opine that being black was a risk factor for future dangerousness.
What is the most common form of execution in the US?
Lethal injection
What is the APA position statement on the death penalty?
There should be a moratorium until policies and procedures can be reformed to assure capital punishment is fairly and impartially administered by basic due process.
What was the finding in Atkins v. Virginia (2002)?
Executing mentally retarded (ID) violates the 8th Amendment as it was cruel and unusual punishment. The USSC did not mandate a single method of diagnosing ID. They overturned a prior ruling, Penry v. Lynaugh, citing popular opinion polls and changing standards.
What was the finding in Hall v. Florida (2014)?
Florida’s scheme for defining MR using a cutoff number to determine MR was unconstitutional. “Florida failed to consider the standard error of measure.”
The inmate had an IQ of 71 when the cutoff was 70.
What was the finding of Roper v. Simmons (2005)?
The 8th and 14th Amendments forbid imposition of the death penalty on offenders who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed.
A Missouri teen killed the woman he had an accident with and threw her over a bridge into a river below. They cited “evolving standards of decency.”
Is there a professional guideline that prohibits a psychiatrist from testifying in competency or NGRI cases of capital defendants?
No
Is there a national standard for competency to be sentenced?
No. It is a state-by-state determination.
What was the finding of Estelle v. Smith (1981)?
The USSC found that information from a competency to stand trial evaluation could not be used in the sentencing phase as it violated the 5th Amendment against self-incrimination and the 6th Amendment right of effective assistance of counsel.
TX’s Dr. Grigson testified that he “would kill again” based on information obtained during a competency evaluation.
What was the finding of Barefoot v. Estelle (1983)?
The USSC ruled that hypothetical scenarios were permissible as psychiatrists are poor at predicting future dangerousness anyway.
Barefoot killed a police officer and was given the death penalty. Dr. Grigson again testified, without evaluating Mr. Barefoot, and using a series of hypothetical scenarios.
What was the finding of Ake v. Oklahoma?
Due process requires that the State provide the defendant with “access to a competent psychiatrist who will conduct an appropriate examination and assist in evaluation, preparation, and presentation of the defense.”
What was the ruling in Buck v. Davis (2017)?
Race cannot be used as a factor in the risk of future dangerousness.
A psychologist said that his race increased his risk of future dangerousness. The USSC said it was also ineffective counsel counsel to present this data.
Can failure to present appropriate mitigation evidence be considered ineffective assistance of counsel?
Yes.
What was the finding in Payne v. Tennessee (1991)?
The USSC overruled its prior decisions in Booth and Gathers when it opined that using Victim Impact statements does not violate the 8th Amendment.
A man stabs/kills a woman and a daughter, and a little boy is attacked but survives. His testimony was used at sentencing.
What is it called when an inmate volunteers for the death penalty?
Competency to waive the right to appeal the death sentence.
You have to assess if this decision is due to mental illness, depression, accepting responsibility, or relief from stress.
What was the finding in Ford v. Wainwright (1986)?
Executing an “insane” (incompetent to be executed) person violates the 8th Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment.
You have to be aware you are being executed and why.
What was the finding in Panetti v. Quarterman (2007)?
Does the Eighth Amendment permit the execution of an inmate who has a factual awareness of the State’s stated reason for his execution, but who lacks, due to mental illness, a rational understanding of the State’s justification?
Unanswered. In an opinion written by Justice Anthony Kennedy for a 5-4 majority, the Court held that the Fifth Circuit’s analysis was too restrictive under Ford v. Wainwright, because it treated Panetti’s mental condition as irrelevant as long as he had in some sense a factual awareness of the state’s rationale. The Court rejected the state’s arguments that the Court did not have jurisdiction and that the state court was entitled to deference under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). In doing so, the Court held that a prisoner may sometimes bring a habeas petition claiming mental incompetency even if he did not raise the claim in his first petition and that state courts can be held to have unreasonably applied a legal principle even if the principle was addressed to somewhat different facts than those of the case at hand. The state court had unreasonably applied Ford by failing to give Panetti a fair hearing to fully present his psychiatric evidence. The Court also ruled that the Fifth Circuit “rests on a flawed interpretation of Ford,” because it failed to consider that Panetti’s delusions may have prevented him from understanding the meaning of his punishment even though he professed to be aware of the facts. The Court did not undertake its own analysis of what kind of rational understanding the Eighth Amendment requires a death row inmate to have, saying, “Although we reject the standard followed by the Court of Appeals, we do not attempt to set down a rule governing all competency determinations.” The Court expressed the hope that expert psychiatric evidence would shed light on which delusions might distort an inmate’s sense of reality so much as to render him incompetent to be executed.
What was the finding in Madison v. Alabama (2019)?
Does the 8th Amendment bar execution of an inmate whose medical condition (dementia) prevents him from remembering the crime for which he was convicted (dementia)?
Decision - The Absence of memory for the crime does not preclude a prisoner from being competent to be executed as long as the inmate has a rational understanding of the reason for the punishment. It extended competence beyond psychotic illness.
Do AAPL ethical guidelines prohibit a psychiatrist from conducting a competency evaluation to be executed?
No. But the World Psychiatric Evaluations guidelines do.
What was the Louisiana Supreme Court’s finding in State v. Perry (1992)?
The LA supreme court said that forcing medications merely to “facilitate … execution does not constitute medical treatment but is antithetical to the basic principles of the healing arts.” They felt it violated the 8th Amendment and the right to privacy guaranteed in the LA constitution.
