The American Bar Association has released a report on Missouri​’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment sys­tem after a two-year study of the state’s death penal­ty. The study was con­duct­ed by legal experts, includ­ing for­mer and cur­rent judges, lawyers, and law pro­fes­sors. Douglas Copeland, a mem­ber of the assess­ment team and for­mer pres­i­dent of the Missouri Bar, said ​“We iden­ti­fied sub­stan­tial prob­lems with the death penal­ty in Missouri. Our group unan­i­mous­ly agreed there are key reforms need­ed to ensure fair­ness in the sys­tem and pre­vent con­vic­tion of the inno­cent.” The rec­om­mend­ed reforms include:

- Narrowing the class­es of cas­es that are eli­gi­ble for the death penal­ty, to include only the most seri­ous mur­ders
 — Improving stan­dards for defense coun­sel in cap­i­tal cas­es
 — Improving law enforce­ment and pros­e­cu­tor prac­tices to pre­vent wrong­ful con­vic­tions and pro­mote appre­hen­sion of the guilty
 — Prohibiting the exe­cu­tion of the severe­ly mentally ill

The study also not­ed progress already made in Missouri to ensure fair­ness in cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, includ­ing cre­ation of the Missouri State Public Defender and new accred­i­ta­tion require­ments for crime labs.

(Press Release, ​“ABA Panel Recommends Reforms for Missouri’s Death Penalty System,” American Bar Association, March 1, 2012.) Read the full study. Read more Studies on the death penalty.

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