NCJ Number
210384
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 95 Issue: 2 Dated: Winter 2005 Pages: 561-586
Date Published
2005
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the background and intent of, as well as responses to, the Final Report of the Massachusetts Governor's Council on Capital Punishment (MGCCP) issued in May 2004, which presents 10 recommendations for the creation of a death penalty administered as fairly and accurately as possible.
Abstract
The creation of the MGCCP occurred against the backdrop of a "crisis of confidence" in the death penalty that has stemmed from several reports that exposed the prevalence of appellate reversals of death sentences and revelations that at least 13 persons on Illinois' death row, and many more nationwide, were innocent of the crimes for which they were sentenced to death. The MGCCP, which the author of this paper co-chaired, was established to reform Massachusetts' procedures for death-penalty cases. The Governor's charge to the Council was to produce recommendations on how best to prevent the execution of an innocent person and how best to ensure that the death penalty is reserved for the "worst of the worst" crimes and criminals. The MGCCP's report offers 10 reform recommendations that, taken as a whole, constitute a major step toward a Model Death Penalty Code designed to ensure fairness and accuracy in the imposition of the death penalty. The author views the outcome of the proposed reform to be a rare application of the death penalty and only in cases in which both the defendant's guilt and the deservedness of execution are virtually certain. Supporters of the death penalty may be unhappy with the report because it will significantly reduce the use of the death penalty, and opponents of the death penalty will argue that the report does not go far enough in recommending its abolition. Still, in the current climate of public opinion about the death penalty, the MGCCP's recommendations envision a capital-punishment system with which most Americans will be willing to live. 103 notes