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Responsibility In Capital Sentencing, Steven Semeraro
Responsibility In Capital Sentencing, Steven Semeraro
San Diego Law Review
Although modem doctrine is worth preserving, it could be improved significantly by focusing explicitly on heightening individual responsibility. Two concrete ways to improve it would be to (1) explain the sentencer' s role in the narrative voice, a way of speaking that, at least in American society, appears to be associated with the assignment of responsibility; and (2) require heightened scrutiny of death sentences by state appellate courts, bringing the responsibility of state appellate judges in capital cases in line with the responsibility they bear in constitutional cases dealing with analogous mixed questions of fact and law under the First, …
Reflections On O.J. And The Gas Chamber, J. Michael Echevarria
Reflections On O.J. And The Gas Chamber, J. Michael Echevarria
San Diego Law Review
This Article discusses the traditional justifications advanced in support of the death penalty and compares them with current empirical data. The justifications are then applied to the O.J. Simpson case. The Article examines the data and reasons for the incidence of error in convicting innocent defendants in capital cases. The type of representation available to O.J. Simpson is contrasted with the quality of representation accorded to most capital defendants. After comparing the empirical data with the ideological justifications for capital punishment, the Author concludes that capital punishment is not necessary.