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Full-Text Articles in Law

The Injustice Of The Death Penalty, Neal Devins, Roy Brasfield Herron Sep 2019

The Injustice Of The Death Penalty, Neal Devins, Roy Brasfield Herron

Neal E. Devins

No abstract provided.


Virginia's Capital Jurors, Stephen P. Garvey, Paul Marcus Sep 2019

Virginia's Capital Jurors, Stephen P. Garvey, Paul Marcus

Paul Marcus

No abstract provided.


Correcting Deadly Confusion: Responding To Jury Inquiries In Capital Cases, Stephen P. Garvey, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus Sep 2019

Correcting Deadly Confusion: Responding To Jury Inquiries In Capital Cases, Stephen P. Garvey, Sheri Lynn Johnson, Paul Marcus

Paul Marcus

No abstract provided.


Capital Punishment In The United States, And Beyond, Paul Marcus Sep 2019

Capital Punishment In The United States, And Beyond, Paul Marcus

Paul Marcus

This article explores the controversial topic of capital punishment, with a particular focus on its longstanding application in the United States. The use of the death penalty in the US has been the subject of much criticism both domestically and internationally. The numerous concerns addressed in this article relate to the morality of the punishment, its effectiveness, the uneven application of the penalty, and procedural problems. The US Supreme Court has confirmed the constitutionality of capital punishment while striking down particular uses of the death penalty. The US is not, however, alone in executing convicted defendants. Capital punishment is still …


Too Ill To Be Killed: Mental And Physical Competency To Be Executed Pursuant To The Death Penalty, Linda A. Malone Sep 2019

Too Ill To Be Killed: Mental And Physical Competency To Be Executed Pursuant To The Death Penalty, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

Mentally ill individuals are being housed in prisons and jails throughout the country. Due to decreased funding and overpopulation of correctional facilities, individuals with pre-existing illnesses, as well as others who develop illnesses, are in severe need of mental health services and punished for their ailments through the use of solitary confinement, long prison sentences, and lack of care. The stress created by such conditions is amplified for mentally ill prisoners who are awaiting execution or the dismissal of their death row sentences. These individuals must show that they are competent to stand trial, exhibit the mental state required for …


The Death Knell For The Death Penalty And The Significance Of Global Realism To Its Abolition From Glossip V. Gross To Brumfield V. Cain, Linda A. Malone Sep 2019

The Death Knell For The Death Penalty And The Significance Of Global Realism To Its Abolition From Glossip V. Gross To Brumfield V. Cain, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

The Supreme Court’s jurisprudence regarding the death penalty, whether or not cruel, has most certainly been unusual in the annals of criminal punishment. In the short span of four years, the Court foreclosed and then reopened this form of punishment in Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia. One year later the Court would categorically exclude the punishment for the rape of an adult. Five years later the Court would again preclude the punishment, for any defendant convicted of felony-murder who did not participate or share in the homicidal act or intent. In 1986 the Court would struggle with …


From Breard To Atkins To Malvo: Legal Incompetency And Human Rights Norms On The Fringes Of The Death Penalty, Linda A. Malone Sep 2019

From Breard To Atkins To Malvo: Legal Incompetency And Human Rights Norms On The Fringes Of The Death Penalty, Linda A. Malone

Linda A. Malone

No abstract provided.


The Death Penalty For Child Rape: Why Texas May Help Louisiana, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

The Death Penalty For Child Rape: Why Texas May Help Louisiana, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


The Diffusion Of Responsibilty In Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

The Diffusion Of Responsibilty In Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case For Eliminating Counties’ Role In The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Statewide Capital Punishment: The Case For Eliminating Counties’ Role In The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Rethinking The Timing Of Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Rethinking The Timing Of Capital Clemency, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

This Article reviews every capital clemency over the last four decades. It demonstrates that in the majority of cases, the reason for commutation was known at the conclusion of direct appeals—years or even decades before the habeas process ended. Yet when governors or pardon boards actually commuted the death sentences, they typically waited until the eve of execution, with only days or hours to spare. Leaving clemency until the last minute sometimes leads to many years of unnecessary state and federal habeas corpus litigation, and this Article documents nearly 300 years of wasted habeas corpus review. Additionally, last-minute commutations harm …


Pay Now, Execute Later: Why Counties Should Be Required To Post A Bond To Seek The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Pay Now, Execute Later: Why Counties Should Be Required To Post A Bond To Seek The Death Penalty, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Post-Trial Pleas Bargaining In Capital Cases: Using Conditional Commutations To Remove Weak Cases From Death Row, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Post-Trial Pleas Bargaining In Capital Cases: Using Conditional Commutations To Remove Weak Cases From Death Row, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

Plea bargaining accounts for over ninety percent of criminal convictions and it dominates the American criminal justice system. Yet, once a defendant is convicted, bargaining almost completely disappears from the system. Even though years of litigation are on the horizon, there is nearly no bargaining in the appellate and habeas corpus process. There are two reasons for this. First, prosecutors and courts typically lack the power to alter a sentence that has already been imposed. Second, even if prosecutors had the authority to negotiate following a conviction, they would have little incentive to do so. Affirmance rates in ordinary criminal …


Imposing A Cap On Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Imposing A Cap On Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Judge's Ill-Timed Ruling Invites Irrationality In Public's Views About Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Judge's Ill-Timed Ruling Invites Irrationality In Public's Views About Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Is Texas Tough On Crime But Soft On Criminal Procedure?, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Is Texas Tough On Crime But Soft On Criminal Procedure?, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

Although Texas is well known for imposing tough punishments on convicted defendants, it is surprisingly generous in affording criminal procedure protections. In a variety of areas, including search and seizure rules, confession requirements, the availability of bail, prosecutorial discovery obligations, and jury trial guarantees, Texas affords protections vastly in excess of what is required by the United States Constitution. Even more shocking, these criminal procedure guarantees come almost entirely from Texas statutes approved by the legislature, not activist rules imposed by judges. This Article explores Texas's reputation as a tough-on-crime state and the seeming inconsistency between Texas being tough on …


Get In The Game Or Get Out Of The Way: Fixing The Politics Of Death, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Get In The Game Or Get Out Of The Way: Fixing The Politics Of Death, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


Delaware's Capital Jury Selection: Inadequate Voir Dire And The Problem Of Automatic Death Penalty Jurors, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

Delaware's Capital Jury Selection: Inadequate Voir Dire And The Problem Of Automatic Death Penalty Jurors, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

No abstract provided.


An Ntsb For Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz Sep 2019

An Ntsb For Capital Punishment, Adam M. Gershowitz

Adam M. Gershowitz

When a fatal traffic accident happens, we expect the local police and prosecutors to handle the investigation and criminal charges. When afatal airplane crash occurs, however, we turn instead to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The reason is that air crashes are complicated and the NTSB has vast expertise. Without that expertise, investigations falter. We need look no further than the mess made by Malaysian authorities in the search for Flight 370 to see the importance of expertise in handling complicated investigations and processes. It is easy to point to a similar series of mistakes by local prosecutors and …


Introduction: Death Penalty And International Law, Davison M. Douglas Sep 2019

Introduction: Death Penalty And International Law, Davison M. Douglas

Davison M. Douglas

No abstract provided.


God And The Executioner: The Influence Of Western Religion On The Use Of The Death Penalty, Davison M. Douglas Sep 2019

God And The Executioner: The Influence Of Western Religion On The Use Of The Death Penalty, Davison M. Douglas

Davison M. Douglas

In this Essay, Professor Douglas conducts an historical review of religious attitudes toward capital punishment and the influence of those attitudes on the state's use of the death penalty. He surveys the Christian Church's strong support for capital punishment throughout most of its history, along with recent expressions of opposition from many Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups. Despite this recent abolitionist sentiment from an array of religious institutions, Professor Douglas notes a divergence of opinion between the "pulpit and the pew" as the laity continues to support the death penalty in large numbers. Professor Douglas accounts for this divergence by …