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.
Sep 11, 2018
Another Louisiana Capital Conviction Overturned for Lawyer Conceding Guilt Over Client’s Objection
The Louisiana Supreme Court has unanimously overturned the conviction of death-row prisoner Brian Douglas Horn (pictured), after Horn’s lawyer conceded — over Horn’s explicit objection — that his client had killed and…
Read MoreNews & Developments
Jul 12, 2019
Florida Capital Sentencing Juries Return Four Life Verdicts in Two Weeks
In the span of two weeks, juries in four unrelated cases in which Florida prosecutors had sought the death penalty have instead returned life sentences. The cases — which were considered probable death verdicts if judges were permit…
Jun 24, 2019
A Snapshot in Time: The U.S. Reaches 1500 Executions
When Georgia executed Marion Wilson, Jr., on June 20, 2019, it marked the
Jun 19, 2019
ACLU Study: Los Angeles Death Penalty Discriminates Against Defendants of Color and the Poor
A new study of the use of capital punishment in Los Angeles has concluded that, throughout the a…
Apr 26, 2019
Georgia Lawyers Seek to Intervene After Brain-Damaged Defendant Permitted to Represent Herself in Death-Penalty Trial
Arguing that a brain-damaged woman facing the death penalty for the starving death of her young daughter “was incapable of representing herself,” lawyers from the Georgia Of…
Apr 24, 2019
John William King Executed in Infamous Lynching Case, Said Attorneys Had Violated His Right to Present Innocence Defense
Texas has executed John William King (pictured), one of three men convicted of the brutal lynching of James Byrd, Jr., after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in his case. King’s lawyer…
Apr 22, 2019
Fresno DA Drops Death Penalty for California’s Longest Serving Death-Row Prisoner
The Fresno County District Attorney’s office has announced that it is dropping the death penalty against Douglas Stankewitz (pictured), California’s longest-serving death-row prisoner. After revie…
Mar 05, 2019
Alabama Prisoner Seeks U.S. Supreme Court Review of Attorney Conflict of Interest Case
Whose interests does a lawyer represent, the capital defendant whose life is at stake or the abusive father paying for his defense? Alabama death-row prisoner Nicholas Acklin (pictured) is seeking U.S. Supreme Cou…
Feb 26, 2019
After More Than Three Decades, Two Death-Row Prisoners Freed in California
Two former California death-row prisoners who had spent a combined 70 years in prison are now free men, after federal courts overturned their convictions and local prosecutors agreed to plea deals on non-capital charges. J…
Feb 04, 2019
Georgia Approaches Five Years With No Death Sentences
For the first time since Georgia brought back the death penalty in 1973, the state will go five years without imposing any death sentences. No jury has handed down a death sentence since March 2014 and, with no capital trials sche…
Jan 17, 2019
New Voices: Former Texas Criminal Appeals Judge Suggests “Pause” on Texas Death Penalty
Retiring Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge and former prosecutor Elsa Alcala now believes that the death penalty is unreliably and discriminatorily applied in the nation’s most aggressive capi…
