NCJ Number
130596
Date Published
1990
Length
265 pages
Annotation
This report, prepared by the American Bar Association (ABA) Criminal Justice Section Project To Study Habeas Corpus Review of State Death Penalty Convictions, presents ABA policy recommendations on death penalty habeas corpus, a report that supports the recommendations, and a background report on related issues.
Abstract
The ABA's Task Force on Death Penalty Habeas Corpus considered five major death penalty habeas corpus issues: competent counsel; procedural default; exhaustion of State judicial remedies; stays of execution, certificates of probable cause, and "chaotic" litigation; and delay, time limitations, successive petitions, and abuse of the writ. The background report in this document discusses all of these issues. The ABA policy recommendations on death penalty habeas corpus stem from the task force's conclusion that the current postconviction process of reviewing capital convictions and sentences is, on the one hand, too long and slow and, on the other hand, susceptible to unfair outcomes due to the inadequate presentation of constitutional issues. The recommendations propose a new process designed to achieve greater fairness and facilitate rational review. The ABA has adopted the recommendations. These 16 recommendations involve interconnected reforms that make the appellate process in death-penalty cases less complex while preserving fairness. Two recommendations involve critical systemic changes: the provision of competent counsel to ensure the rectification of any constitutional errors and the implementation of a statute of limitations to speed the process. Appended legislation for implementing the recommendations and a 90-item bibliography