NCJ Number
100028
Journal
Rutgers Law Journal Volume: 15 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1984) Pages: 443-487
Date Published
1984
Length
44 pages
Annotation
This paper analyzes cases of the 11 offenders executed under capital punishment statutes between 1977 and 1983 and concludes that, because no distinguishing factors can be identified to place these cases in a unique category, the death penalty is being freakishly imposed and carried out.
Abstract
While approximately 200 death sentences are imposed annually, executions are very few. The primary means of opposing capital punishment today is challenging case-specific errors in the proceedings. Where the courts have not found alleged errors to be reversible or where prisoners did not vigorously raise these claims, death sentences have resulted in executions. A comparative analysis of the 11 offenders who were executed, out of 3,000 death sentences imposed between 1977 and 1983, covers their demographic and personal characteristics, the criminal process which resulted in conviction, and time spent on death row. While all 11 men committed murder, 6 of the homicides were fairly ordinary killings that occurred during armed robberies. Only one homicide was carefully contemplated and planned over a long period during which the deterrent effect of the death penalty could have been significant. This analysis suggests that the death penalty is not being reserved exclusively for particularly heinous crimes and that its deterrent value is questionable. Tables and 436 footnotes.