Policy Issues
Representation
Defendants are much less likely to be sentenced to death when they are represented by qualified lawyers who are provided sufficient time and resources to present a strong defense.
DPIC Podcast: Discussions With DPIC
Lawyers for the Condemned
ABA Guidelines and Standards for Capital Representation
American Bar Association's recommended standards for counsel in capital cases
Overview
The quality of representation a defendant receives in a capital case can make the difference between life and death. Almost all defendants cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, and states differ widely on the standards—if any—for death penalty representation. Accounts of lawyers sleeping or drinking alcohol during the trial, lawyers with racial bias toward their client, lawyers who conduct no investigation or fail to obtain necessary experts, or lawyers simply having no experience with capital cases have been rampant throughout the history of the death penalty.
The right to an attorney is a hallmark of the American judicial system. It is essential that the lawyer be experienced in capital cases, be adequately compensated, and have access to the resources needed to fulfill his or her obligations to the client and the court.
As abuses in the system have been exposed, most states have raised the standards for representation. However, most death-penalty states do not have statewide capital defense organizations, and many counties who are responsible for assigning and compensating lawyers have small budgets and cannot afford the kind of representation a capital case requires.
At Issue
Despite the poor quality of representation in many capital cases, courts have often upheld the convictions and death sentences imposed because of low expectations and the belief that better representation would not have made a difference in the case. Where higher quality counsel and adequate resources have been provided, death sentences have declined dramatically.
What DPIC Offers
DPIC has highlighted the key court decisions in this area, as well as the numerous instances in which the system has failed. A number of DPIC’s reports discuss the importance of quality representation. The standards for representation approved by the American Bar Association, along with the status of state compliance, are also available.
Jun 17, 2020
U.S. Supreme Court Orders Texas Court to Reconsider Case of Inadequate Representation
By a vote of 6 – 3, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) ruling upholding the death sentence imposed on Terence Andrus (pictured). The Court held that Andrus’ c…
Read MoreNews & Developments
Innocence
Nov 03, 2021
Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Again Recommends Commuting Julius Jones’ Death Sentence
The Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has for a second time recommended that Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt grant clemency to death-row prisoner Julius Jones (pictured during the clemency hearing). …
Representation
Oct 26, 2021
Supreme Court Moves Arguments in Death Penalty Cases to Hear Texas Abortion Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court has pushed back arguments in three death-penalty cases so it can expedite consideration of two cases involving Texas’ restrictive abortion statute. To hear argument in United States v. Texas and
Innocence
Oct 25, 2021
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Review Federal Appeals Court Ruling Overturning Grant of a New Trial for Texas Woman on Death Row for What May Have Been the Accidental Death of Her Child
The U.S. Supreme Court on October 18, 2021 denied review in the case of Texas death-row prisoner Melissa Elizabeth Lucio (pictured). Lucio was convicted and sentenced to death on charges that she murdered her two…
Representation
Oct 12, 2021
Texas Federal Court Stays Execution of Stephen Barbee on Religious Freedom Issue, Defense Seeks Review of False Forensic Testimony
A federal court in Texas has stayed the October 12, 2021 execution of Texas death-row prisoner Stephen Barbee on his claims that the state’s refusal to allow his spiritual advisor to administer last rites, touch h…
Capital Case Development
Oct 06, 2021
Oregon Appellate Court Grants New Trial to Death-Row Prisoner Jesse Johnson, Finding Trial Counsel Failed to Interview Witness Whose Testimony Could Potentially Exonerate Him
An Oregon appellate court has granted a new trial to death-row prisoner Jesse Johnson, finding his trial counsel ineffective for failing to interview a neighbor of the homicide victim whose eyewitness testimony co…
Arbitrariness
Oct 04, 2021
New Scholarship: A Review of Virginia’s Death-Penalty Experience Exposes the Myth that the Death Penalty is Reserved for ‘the Worst of the Worst’ Cases
The death penalty is reserved for “’the worst of the worst’ — or at least that is what we are told,” writes University of Richmond law professor Corrina Barrett Lain (pictured) in
Innocence
Sep 24, 2021
Supreme Court Case Threatens to Deny Access to Federal Courts to Death-Row Prisoners Who Received Ineffective State Representation
Nine different groups of advocates, including former prosecutors and judges, leading legal scholars, innocence advocates, and defense attorneys, have filed friend-of-the-court amicus briefs in the United States Supreme Court asking the court to ru…
Capital Case Development
Sep 23, 2021
Alabama Federal Court Overturns Marcus Williams’ Death Sentence
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama granted a new penalty hearing to death-row prisoner Marcus …
Capital Case Development
Sep 22, 2021
Pennsylvania Court Denies Post-Conviction Relief to Death-Row Prisoner Albert Reid, Remands on Competency Issue
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has, with one exception, affirmed a trial court ruling denying death-row prisoner Albert Reid’s post-conviction challenge to his conviction and death sentence. In a
Innocence
Sep 21, 2021
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals Sets Seven Execution Dates
After more than six years with no executions and with a trial pending on the constitutionality of the state’s lethal injection process, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has issued death warrants setting seven execution dates…
