Law Commons^™

Certain Prosecutors: Geographical Arbitrariness, Unusualness, & The Abolition Of Virginia’S Death Penalty, Bernadette M. Donovan

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Virginia’s abolition of the death penalty in 2021 was a historic development. As both a southern state and one of the country’s most active death penalty jurisdictions, Virginia’s transition away from capital punishment represented an important shift in the national landscape. This article considers whether that shift has any constitutional significance, focusing on the effect of Virginia’s abolition on the geographical arbitrariness of the country’s death penalty.

As a starting point, the death penalty in America is primarily regulated by the Eighth Amendment, which bars “cruel and unusual punishments.” The United States Supreme Court has held that the death penalty …

Atkins V. Virginia At Twenty: Still Adaptive Deficits, Still In The Developmental Period, Sheri Lynn Johnson, John H. Blume, Brendan Van Winkle

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Twenty years ago, in Atkins v. Virginia, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Eighth Amendment prohibited states from executing persons with intellectual disability. While the Court’s decision is laudable and has saved many of the most vulnerable persons from the executioner, its effect has been undermined by recalcitrant states attempting to exploit language in the opinion permitting states to create procedures to implement the (then) new categorical prohibition. In this article, we examine how some states have adopted procedures which are fundamentally inconsistent with the clinical consensus understanding of the disability and how one state, …

When Police Volunteer To Kill, Alexandra L. Klein

Scholarly Articles

The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of lethal injection, yet states continue to struggle with drug shortages and botched executions. Some states have authorized alternative methods of execution, including the firing squad. Utah, which has consistently carried out firing squad executions throughout its history, relies on police officers from the jurisdiction where the crime took place to volunteer to carry out these executions. This represents a plausible--and probable--method for other states in conducting firing squad executions.

Public and academic discussion of the firing squad has centered on questions of pain and suffering. It has not engaged with the consequences …

"Only To Have A Say In The Way He Dies": Bodily Autonomy And Methods Of Execution, Alexandra L. Klein

Scholarly Articles

Capital punishment is one of the most significant intrusions into a person's bodily autonomy; the state takes a person's life. Even though the state has stripped a person on death row of much of their autonomy and intends to kill them, removing all autonomy, a person sentenced to death may, in some circumstances, choose how they will die. While most states rely on a single method of execution, some states permit a condemned person to choose among two or more methods of execution. Constitutional challenges to methods of execution requires the challenger to demonstrate a substantial risk of severe pain …

Three Observations About The Worst Of The Worst, Virginia-Style, Corinna Barrett Lain

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Much could be said about Virginia’s historic decision to repeal the death penalty, and Professor Klein’s essay provides a wonderful starting point for any number of important discussions. We could talk about how the decision came to be. Or why the move is so momentous. Or what considerations were particularly important in the decision‑making process. Or where we should go from here. But in this brief comment, I’ll be focusing not on the how, or the why, or the what, or the where, but rather on the who. Who are condemned inmates, both generally and Virginia‑style?

The Beginning Of The End: Abolishing Capital Punishment In Virginia, Alexandra L. Klein

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

When thinking about the history of capital punishment in the United States, I suspect that the average person is likely to identify Texas as the state that has played the most significant role in the death penalty. The state of Texas has killed more than five hundred people in executions since the Supreme Court approved of states’ modified capital punishment schemes in 1976. By contrast, Virginia has executed 113 people since 1976.

But Virginia has played a significant role in the history of capital punishment. After all, the first recorded execution in Colonial America took place in 1608 at Jamestown, …

Nondelegating Death, Alexandra L. Klein

Scholarly Articles

Most states’ method of execution statutes afford broad discretion to executive agencies to create execution protocols. Inmates have challenged this discretion, arguing that these statutes unconstitutionally delegate legislative power to executive agencies, violating the state’s nondelegation and separation of powers doctrines. State courts routinely use the nondelegation doctrine, in contrast to the doctrine’s historic disfavor in federal courts. Despite its uncertain status, the nondelegation doctrine is a useful analytical tool to examine decision-making in capital punishment.

This Article critically evaluates responsibility for administering capital punishment through the lens of nondelegation. It analyzes state court decisions upholding broad legislative delegations to …

Prescription For Death?: Psychotic Capital Defendants And The Need For Medication, Joseph R. Dunn

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Johnson V. Reid No. 04a-87, 2004 Wl 1784349, At *1 (U.S. Aug. 11, 2004)

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Nelson V. Campbell 124 S. Ct. 2117 (2004)

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Va. Code Ann. S 19.2-163.7*

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Standby Me: Self-Representation And Standby Counsel In A Capital Case, Meghan H. Morgan

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Va. Code Ann. S 19.2-327.01

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Defense-Based Victim Outreach: Restorative Justice In Capital Cases, Kristen F. Grunewald, Priya Nath

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Va. Code Ann. § 9.1-101

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

United States V. Quinones 313 F.3d 49 (2d Cir. 2002) United States V. Quinones 317 F.3d 86 (2d Cir. 2002)

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Mickens V. Taylor 122 S. Ct. 1237 (2002)

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

The Equality Principle Revisited: The Relationship Of Daubert V. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals To Ake V. Oklahoma, Lee Richard Goebes

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Defendant's Right To A Fair Trial In The Information Age, Erika Patrick

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Reverse Impact Testimony: A New And Improved Victim Impact Statement, Adrienne N. Barnes

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Better To Let Ten Guilty Men Live: The Presumption Of Life-A Principle To Govern Capital Sentencing, Damien P. Delaney

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Proportionality Review: Still Inadequate, But Still Necessary, Cynthia M. Bruce

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Racial Disparities In The Capital System: Invidious Or Accidental?, Kathryn Roe Eldridge

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

A Positive First Step: The Joint Legislative Audit And Review Commission's Review Of Virginia's System Of Capital Punishment

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

No One Can Serve Two Masters: Arguments Against Private Prosecutors, Matthew S. Nichols

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Evolution Of An Eighth Amendment Dichotomy: Substantive And Procedural Protections Within The Cruel And Unusual Punishment Clause In Capital Cases, Kimberly A. Orem

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Procedural Default: A De Facto Exception To Civility?, Ashley Flynn

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Procedural Default Chasm, Matthew K. Mahoney

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Forgiveness In Capital Murder Cases, Paige Mcthenia

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.

Improving Process In Virginia Capital Cases, Robert H. Robinson, Jr.

Capital Defense Journal

No abstract provided.