NCJ Number
168914
Journal
New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement Volume: 23 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1997) Pages: 101-138
Date Published
1997
Length
38 pages
Annotation
After demonstrating that courts should declare the current system of death sentence delays as constituting cruel and unusual punishment, this Note suggests a remedy to the problem.
Abstract
This Note does not argue either for or against the constitutionality of the death penalty per se. Accepting that it is unlikely that the death penalty will be abolished in America, it advocates a procedure for ensuring adequate protections for death row inmates that will ensure due process of law while eliminating the cruel and unusual punishment of excessive delays in deciding the offender's fate. The Federal Effective Death Penalty Act has brought about significant structural reform to Federal habeas corpus proceedings. The Act imposes a statute of limitations on appeals from State judgments. It also addresses the exhaustion requirement and the interaction between State and Federal postconviction attacks on judgments. Finally, the Act makes provisions for State appointment of competent counsel for capital defendants in postconviction matters. This Act is designed to limit the role of the Federal courts in what is essentially a State proceeding. By recognizing the problems with delay in the capital sentencing process and remedying them through fair, complete, and expedited hearings, the Act moves to create a system of capital punishment adjudication that is fair to the prisoner and of great value to the criminal justice system. 313 footnotes