NCJ Number
93756
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 74 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1983) Pages: 860-912
Date Published
1983
Length
53 pages
Annotation
This study examines the phenomenon of prisoners facing possible execution who 'waive' legal challenges to their sentence or affirmatively seek to force the State to fulfill its pledge to execute them and suggests that the U.S. Supreme Court's response to this phenomenon has been inadequate.
Abstract
Persons who 'volunteer' for execution fall into two usually interrelated categories: (1) those suffering from psychological illnesses characterized by suicidal impulses who are unable to commit the act themselves (2) those suffering both physically and psychologically from the combined stress of being condemned to die at some indefinite point in the future, while being confined for prolonged periods in brutalizing and dehumanizing conditions on 'death rows' across the country. Competency standards must be flexible to reflect the importance of the decision sought to be waived or exercised. Decisions to 'waive' further legal challenges can almost invariably be traced to the unconscionable conditions to which condemned prisoners are subjected. Even if an inmate's decision to forego further legal proceedings can be deemed both competent and voluntary, recognizing such a 'right' cannot be reconciled with either the State's interest in ensuring that the death penalty is imposed in a constitutional manner or the Federal interest in ensuring that the States themselves impose the penalty in that manner. In contrast to the qualified 'right to die' increasingly recognized in the medical field, a convicted felon has no 'right' to determine the method of punishment. A total of 224 footnotes are listed. (Author summary modified)