The May 8th edi­tion of U.S. News & World Report high­lights the declin­ing num­ber of death sen­tences hand­ed down each year in the U.S., the small­er num­ber of exe­cu­tions, and the grow­ing num­ber of states that are re-eval­u­at­ing cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. Public sup­port for the death penal­ty has also decreased because of doubts about the accu­ra­cy and fairnes of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment.

The arti­cle notes that New Jersey recent­ly estab­lished a mora­to­ri­um on exe­cu­tions and New York opt­ed not to restore its death penal­ty. A grow­ing num­ber of juris­dic­tions have tem­porar­i­ly halt­ed exe­cu­tions due to ongo­ing con­cerns about the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of lethal injec­tion. ​“What’s hap­pen­ing is reflec­tive of a nation seem­ing­ly at odds with itself. A recent Gallup Poll shows that sup­port for exe­cu­tions, though down from its peak, is still 64 per­cent. But it is also clear that many, includ­ing pros­e­cu­tors and judges, are grow­ing increas­ing­ly uneasy about impos­ing death — ago­niz­ing not only over how and whom to kill but over whether those fac­ing exe­cu­tion have a fair shot at prov­ing their inno­cence. Courts with grow­ing fre­quen­cy are choos­ing life in prison as an alter­na­tive,” the article states.

The arti­cle notes that stud­ies by the American Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union have revealed that defedants’ odds of receiv­ing a death sen­tence depend more on their race, the qual­i­ty of their legal rep­re­sen­ta­tion, and where they are charged than on the spe­cif­ic facts of the case. In addi­tion, the United States is find­ing itself among a shrink­ing list of nations around the world that con­tin­ue to prac­tice cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment.

(U.S. News & World Report, May 8, 2006). Read DPIC’s 2005 Year End Report. See Sentencing, Life Without Parole, Innocence, Public Opinion, International Death Penalty, and Recent Legislative Developments.

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