Representation
Studies Regarding Capital Representation
ABA State Death Penalty Assessments
Kentucky Assessment on the Death Penalty (2011)
ABA study analyzing various laws, rules, procedures, standards, and guidelines relating to the administration of capital punishment in Kentucky.
Tennessee Death Penalty Assessment (2007)
Study by the ABA detailing racial and geographic disparities in capital cases, poorly trained defense attorneys, heavy caseloads for those representing defedants, and inadequate procedures to address innocence claims.
Pennsylvania Death Penalty Assessment Report (2007)
Study by the American Bar Association (ABA) showing that flaws in Pennsylvania’s death penalty system are so pervasive that the state risks executing an innocent person.
Indiana Death Penalty Assessment (2007)
Study by the American Bar Association calling for a halt to executions in the state because of concerns about the arbitrariness of the state’s death penalty.
Ohio Death Penalty Assessment Report (2007)
Study by the American Bar Association stating that Ohio’s capital punishment system is so flawed that it should be suspended while the state conducts a thorough review of its fairness and accuracy.
Georgia Death Penalty Assessment Report (2006)
Study by the American Bar Association Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project found that Georgia’s death penalty fails to meet 43 ABA standards for improving the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty.
Alabama Death Penalty Assessment (2006)
Study by the American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project found that Alabama’s death penalty failed to meet fundamental ABA standards of fairness and accuracy.
Arizona Death Penalty Assessment (2006)
Study by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project determining that Arizona’s capital punishment laws are plagued with serious problems
Other Studies on Death-Penalty Representation
A study about the structures and funding mechanisms governing the provision of indigent defense in the federal courts.
Slamming the Courthouse Doors: Denial of Access to Justice and Remedy in America (2011)
A study by the American Civil Liberties Union showing that many states severely restrict access to justice for capital defendants and limit the availability of remedies to correct errors.
In Life and Death, Costly Mistakes (2011)
Study by the Philadelphia Inquirer of death penalty appeals in Pennsylvania spanning three decades, finding a pattern of ineffective assistance by defense attorneys.
Legal Disparities in the Capital of Capital Punishment (2009)
A study that reveals disparities in who receives the death penalty in Texas by Scott Phillips, a professor at the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Denver.
Study by the Common Sense Foundation of North Carolina finding that at least 37 people on death row had trial lawyers who would not have met minimum standards of qualification at the time of the study.
Minimizing Risk, A Blueprint for Death Penalty Reform in Texas (2005)
Study by the Texas Defender Service calling for substantial changes in the way Texas handles capital murder cases.