Death Penalty Final Exam

Juan Raul Garza

was the first person executed under the 1988 drug kingpin statute. Garza was sentenced to death in Texas in August 1993 for murdering a man by shooting him five times in the head and neck and ordering the murders of two other drug traffickers. These were motivated by his desire to gain control of distribution networks. His execution was delayed twice by Clinton because of possible racial disparities. Ashcroft, the attorney general at the time, stated that there were no racial disparities, but failed to note that black and Hispanic gang members receive the death penalty far more often than white mobsters do.

Four actions that can be taken when the USSC accepts an appeal

1. Affirm the verdict or decision of the lower court and "let it stand" 2. Modify the verdict or decision of the lower court, without totally reversing it. 3. Reverse the verdict or decision of the lower court, requiring no further court action; or 4. Reverse the verdict or decision of the lower court and remand the case to the court of original jurisdiction, for either retrial or resentencing.

Three General Categories of Military Capital Offenses

1. Offenses that could be committed at any time, (2) offenses committed during the time of war, and (3) offenses that are "grave breaches" of the law of war. The death penalty is mandatory for soldiers convicted of spying in time of war; however, given the USSC's consisten post-furman record of rejecting mandatory statutes, it's obvious that it would be struck down.

Majority decision

5 judges to stay or stop an execution in death penalty cases.

How federal capital punishment differs from the state:

1. Require authorization from the Attorney General before Federal Charges can be filed. 2. Requiring the court to consider the federal public defender's recommendation about which attorneys are qualified for appointment. 3. Three different sets of aggravating circumstances: espionage and treason, homicide, and nonhomicide drug offenses. 4. Requiring federal judges in capital sentencing proceedings to instruct the jury basically to remain unbiased by not considering physical characteristics. -No jury stacking 5. Restricting the federal governments ability to impose the death penalty on Native Americans.

Definitions of Innocence

1. The most conservative definition is one that includes only those cases in which a government official admitted error. A problem is that in the 20th century, no government official in the U.S. had ever admitted to being involved in the execution of an innocent person. 2. The next most conservative definition of innocence includes only officially exonerated defendants who either were completely uninvolved in the capital crime or were convicted of a crime that did not occur. 3. A more liberal definition of innocence might include capital defendants whose cases were dismissed or who were found not guilty at retrial. A problem with this is the defendant might be legally innocent but factually guilty. 4. Other definitions might include accidents, self-defense, or the product of mental illness. IN SHORT, A MORE LIBERAL DEFINITION OF INNOCENCE PRODUCES A LARGER NUMBER OF SUCH PEOPLE WHILE A CONSERVATIVE DEFINITION PRODUCES A SMALLER NUMBER.

1994 Federal Crime Bill (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act) and which crimes are death penalty eligible without committing a murder

1. Treason 2. Mailing of injurious articles with intent to kill

Reprieve

A formal postponement of the execution of a sentence imposed by a governor or a court of law

Assistance and Indemnity

23 states have no law to help those exonerated. Currently, inmates may be compensated in four ways: filing a compensation claim, lawsuits, private legislation, or private donations. However, the problem with this is that they often need legal counsel which is nearly impossible for them to pay for. Another problem is that they often have to PROVE that they were innocent a second time which is impossible without assistance.

Federal Court System

94 district courts. 13 circuits, with at least one federal district court in each state, 13 U.S. circuit courts of appeals. 12 of them have jurisdiction over the death penalty. *Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is the only court that does not hear death penalty cases. The Supreme Court is at the top level

Harris County

A county in texas where the majority of executions occur. If this county was a state, it would rank second only to texas itself as the state with the most post-furman executions.

Jurors Misunderstanding

A huge problem with post-furman statutes is the failure of many jurors to understand their statutory sentencing obligations, and judges in many jurisdictions are legally barred from clarifying this issue. Along with this, many jurors are barred from looking up answers to their questions. A lot of the time, jurors struggle with legal terms such as premeditation and criminal intent.

Lawyer's skill in capital punishment cases

A lawyer's skill is the most important factor in determining whether a defendant is sentenced to death or life in prison. A texas study by the governor's judicial council found that 75% of those convicted of capital murder had court-appointed attorneys. Also, in Harris County the prosecutor rarely charges someone with capital murder if he knows that they'll be represented by a private attorney.

Thomas Bird

A man that was subjected to the first federal execution on June 25th, 1790. He was hanged for Murder in Maine.

"Brady Violation"

A prosecutors concealment or misrepresentation of evidence.

The Illusive Hope of Clemency

Clemency generally provides the final opportunity to consider whether a death sentence should be imposed. All 50 states, the feds, and the military have provisions for granting clemency. It was much more common in colonial America than it is today. George Bush has presided over more executions (152) as Governor than anyone else and only granted clemency in one. The governor doesn't have to give a statement as to why he did or did not grant clemency as well. Prior to 1970, governors routinely granted clemency.

Racial Justice Act and the Fairness in Death Sentencing Act

After the McCleskey decision, and upon Justice Powell's suggestion, congress researched racial discrimination in capital charging and sentencing. They concurred that racial discrimination was a problem especially when it was based on the race of the victim. To correct this, congress proposed these two pieces of legislation. These acts would allow individuals to show patterns of racially discriminatory charging or sentencing. Both proposals were vigorously opposed by state and federal prosecutors because they claimed there was no pattern of discrimination and that it would lead to the abolition of the death penalty. The senate rejected the act both times after it was passed by the house and the acts stalled.

Incapacitation

Arguably one of the most defensible rationales in support of the death penalty. However,the supreme considers it only the secondary considerations with retribution being the first Only 12.7% of the those surveyed chose incapacitation as the most important reason for their support. This is a valuable argument because offenders have been known to escape from time to time. A lot of individuals have blamed parole boards for their errors. Nearly 100 death row inmates have their sentences vacated each year from parole boards. However, a counterargument is that we trust these individuals to evaluate these sentences and they have a constitutional right to make the decisions.

LWOP

An alternative to capital punishment, and one that eliminates entirely the possibility of executing an innocent person is true LWOP. However, some opponents of this state that LWOP has the same problems as the death penalty and writes off the offender as worthless and amount to human garbage disposal. Many lifers are among the best behaved prisoners. Another reason to recommend LWOP as an alternative is that some death inmates rehabilitate themselves, such as Tookie Williams who received the Presidential Call to Service Award for more than 4,000 hours of community service but was executed in 2005. Evidence shows that 90% of nonconvicted capital offenders probably will not kill again. Age is the best predictor of inmate misconduct in LWOP cases. In many cases, LWOP is up to 50% cheaper than death penalty cases. LWOP does not require the super due process procedures and can often be plea bargained into. This can save the taxpayer millions, however, a lot of individuals are concerned with the growing cost of healthcare.

Ineffective counsel

An attorney that falls asleep in trial is not ineffective. Pretty much the only requirement is that the defense attorney is breathing. To combat ineffective counsel, many states have created guidelines however, these guidelines are truly minimum standards. Only three states follow the ABA guidelines because the supreme court does not require them and they're very expensive. State's usually don't have enough money for this because capital cases often run 700-1000 hours for the defense attorney. Florida has a cap at $3,500 so the defense attorneys would literally get paid around $3 an hour. Another problem is that judges can appoint any attorney even if their specialization is in real estate.

Pardon

An executive grant providing restoration of all rights and privileges of citizenship to a specific individual charged or convicted of a crime. These are rarely given (7 inmates) in capital cases.

Brutalization Effect

An outcome of capital punishment that enhances, rather than deters, the level of violence in society. The death penalty reinforces the view that violence is an appropriate response to provocation.

The trial stage

Approximately 95% of cases never reach trial and are plea bargained instead, except for capital cases. They are rarely plea bargained. The guilt phase of the bifurcated capital trial in some states was considerably more expensive than the penalty phase. The penalty phase in a capital case in Maryland after Gregg increased the costs of the trial by only $147,000. The most specific costs are voir dire, attorney hours, expert testimony, witnesses, and court costs. A major reason the voir dire is so costly is that many jurisdictions require jurors to be sequestered until the full jury is selected or until they are dismissed. In OJ Simpson's case, the jury had to be paid for 265 days which was $87,000. Court costs are 4.5 times greater in capital cases. Some counties have been bankrupted by capital trial costs.

Wrongful Executions Since 1976

As many as 26 people (and likely more) may have been executed in error in the United States since 1976 and the implementation of super due process. This represents 2% of all executions through December 2010.`

The posttrial stage

At least one authority believes this stage generally is the most expensive part of the entire process. It is estimated that a capital appeal requires 500-2000 hours of attorney time. Each instance of proportionality review (If it's used, Pulley v. Harris) further drives up this cost. It is estimated that attorneys spend an average of 700-1000 hours on state postconviction proceedings.

CDO

Capital defense offices have been used to address the legal representation problem. So successful are some of these offices that prosecutors rarely seek the death penalty. However, many states do not use them because they're expensive.

Imprisonment of Death Row Offenders

Capital offenders typically serve more than 20 percent of what otherwise might be 50-year LWOP sentence before they are executed. It is more expensive to house them on death row than in a maximum-security institution. Reasons are because of single cell confinement and added security measures. An additional cost is the death watch. The average difference in cost was around $7,500 per year.

Primary Goal of Capital Punishment During the Colonial Period

Deterrence

Most common reason why people support capital punishment.

Deterrence no longer seems to be an important rationale for death penalty proponents. According to a 2010 national opinion poll, only 45% of respondents thought that the death penalty could held deter crime. When asking their most important reason for supporting the death penalty in 2009, only 10% said deterrence. By contrast, 54.6% chose retribution and that the punishment should fit the crime.

Military Executions

During the early wars most soldiers were put to death for desertion, and there has been far more black soldiers executed than white soldiers. The military's death row is currently a pod in the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks' special housing unit at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There have been no executions since 1961. There are still eight soldiers on death row: six blacks, one white, and one asian.

Ehrlich's General Deterrent Effect

Ehrlich criticized Sellin's comparison by stating that it was on the basis of death penalty statutes and not whether they used it. Also, he believed that Sellin failed to control for a variety of factors that could influence homicide or murder rates. Ehrlich began his research with his key variable being the execution risk. He concluded that an additional execution per year over the period of 1933-1969 may have resulted, on average, in seven seven or eight fewer murders. However, many individuals were critical of his numerous methodological flaws with one of the biggest being that when Texas was eliminated from the study all deterrence effects were eliminated from the model. The national academy of sciences states that the deterrence effect was not a settled matter.

Average cost per execution in the united states

Estimated to range from $2.5m to $5m. Ted Bundy's case costed Florida $10m. Timothy McVeigh's case costed $100m. If an inmate lives 31 years in a prison his expenses will be roughly $1m which is 2.5-5 times cheaper than the average death row case. Also, as the DPIC points out, 1m spread out over 40 years vs. 1 million spent all at once is a lot different.

Firing Squad

Execution by firing squad currently remains an option in two states: Oklahoma and Utah. Firing squads in Utah consisted of five volunteer marksmen. Four of them were given rifles with live rounds and one was given a rifle with blanks. The first execution after Furman was of Gary Gilmore in Utah. The last person to be executed in the United states by firing squad was Ronnie Lee Gardner who chose it for notoriety. Fewer than 150 people have been executed legally by firing squad.

Eyewitness misidentification and perjury by prosecution witnesses

Eyewitness misidentification is the most important contributing factor to wrongful convictions in noncapital cases. Eyewitness misidentification is probably less common in capital cases, but it was still the second most important factor. One study found that perjury by prosecution witnesses was the number-one cause of wrongful convictions in capital cases, accounting for 45.9% of 111 death row exonerations between 77 and 04.

Rule of Four

For a case to be heard, four judges must agree to hear it.

Research by Bedau and Radelet

Found that the average number of people wrongfully convicted in the first six decades were 59 per decade. However, during the 80s there was also 59 per decade. Since then, the average number of innocent death row inmates being released has been increasing. They claim that this might be only the tip of the iceberg.

Lethal Injection

In 1977, Oklahoma became the first jurisdiction in the United States to authorize lethal injection as an execution method. The three chemicals most commonly used in lethal injections are sodium thiopental or sodium pentothal which is an anesthetic, pancuronium bromide which is a muscle relaxer, and potassium chloride which stops the heart. The first person executed by lethal injection in the United States was in Texas in 1982. In theory, this should be the most humane method but there have been horrific botched executions. Lethal injection is the method by which 1,246 individuals have been executed.

Death Penalty Viewed Globally

Globally, the death penalty is trending toward abolition. At the beginning of the twentieth century, only three countries --- Costa rica, san marino, and Venezuela had abolished it for all crimes. However, 96 countries have now abolished it. The most recent was Gabon. 527 prisoners were executed in 23 countries in 2010. The United States ranked fourth with 9 percent of these. Europe views the death penalty as a violation of human rights. There have been resolutions passed by Europe urging U.S. and Japan to place a moratorium on executions. Article 36 of the Vienna COnvention requires officials in the U.S. to inform foreign nationals placed under arrests of their rights to confer with their home country's consular officials. This has been ignored by the U.S. The USSC has states that the Vienna convention does not apply to state rules.

Timothy McVeigh

In April 1995, a van containing explosives blew up in front of a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. This man, a former marine who had become part of a militant anti-government movement on the right, was convicted of the crime and eventually executed in 2001 by lethal injection. Sought revenge against the US government. It is estimated that his trial cost the government more than $100m including $20m for defense and $80m by the government.

Most federal executions take place:

In Terre Haute, Indiana which was the first federal death row facility in American history.

Death Warrant

Instigates the execution process. It typically sets the date and place for a prisoner's execution, usually is issued by a state's governor or the president, and authorizes a warden or other prison officials to carry out a death sentence.

Electrocution

Involves an individual sitting in a chair and being shocked repeatedly until he or she dies. William Kemmler was the first man to be executed with it. Edison's DC currents were used for executions. Electrocution became the method used by a majority of executing states between 1930 and 1972.

Arbitrariness

Involves the question of whether discretion permits the death penalty to be applied randomly, capriciously, irregularly, or disproportionately among the qualified defendants without any evident regard for the legal criteria designed to determine the selection. Arbitrariness is random.

Discrimination

Involves the question of whether discretion permits the death penalty to be deliberately directed disproportionately against certain qualified defendants, not because of the nature of their crimes, but because they belong to a particular class or group determined by such considerations as race, sex, nationality, religion, or wealth. Discrimination is deliberate.

Discrimination

Is a violation of the EPC of the 14th amendment and of special restrictions on the use of capital punishment under the 8th amendment.

Jury Nullification

Juries choosing not to convict clearly guilty defendants because it goes against their morals and values to sentence them to death.

Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996

Law limited federal court access for defendants convicted in state courts. It limited the amount of habeas corpus petitions when a claim has already been made on a previous petition. It also required that new claims be dismissed unless the Supreme Court hands down a new rule of constitutional law and makes it retroactive to cases on collateral review. The only way the USSC will hear a claim made for the first time is when the claim is based on new evidence not previously available. It basically made it where the individuals have to go through each gate on the way to the USSC and it made the appellate courts Gatekeepers.

Viewing an Execution

Many death penalty states do not allow citizens to witness an executions unless they have a direct relationship to the case. However, in at least 16 death penalty states, law requires that a certain number of people serve as official witnesses to ensure that the execution is carried out in a dignified and humane way. The average number of civilian witnesses is six. Normally, death occurs in approximately 4.5 minutes after the drug is administered.

Counterarguments to claims of racial discrimination

Many proponents claim there is no longer any discrimination. They use studies to reveal that those sentenced for killing white victims has declined quite a bit. They also point to the fact that black on white murders commonly have more aggravating factors. A final argument is that even if there is discrimination, society's interests in retribution, justice, and concern for crime victims and their families are more important.

Few death-eligible offenders are executed

Only 1-2% of all death-eligible offenders have been executed from 1930-present. There's no meaningful way to determine why this is. Some individuals might say that it's because it's been reserved for the worst, but many serial killers such as Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, have escaped capital punishment.

Arguments and Counterarguments for the Death Penalty

Philosopher Van Den Haag asserts that our penal system rests on the proposition that more savage penalties are more deterrent than less severe penalties. He states that the death penalty has the most deterrent effect because of this. However, statistics show that added severity reduces deterrence because juries choose not to convict a lot more. Cesare Beccaria states that life imprisonment is a more severe punishment (and better deterrent) than execution. He believed that the death penalty wasn't useful because he made men barbaric. The problem remains that there is no scientific evidence showing conclusively that the death penalty has any marginal effect. There is no evidence that capital punishment deters more than LWOP.

Racial Discrimination

Post-furman statutes have failed to end racial discrimination in the imposition of the death penalty. Early crimes were much more harsh for black individuals. From 1800 to 2002, 50% of all individuals executed were black, even though they comprised only about 11% of the population. All statistics indicate that racial discrimination in the imposition of the death penalty is strongest for the south. Between 1983-1993 a study found that blacks were four times as likely to receive a death sentence. One of the biggest deals was the race of the victim in capital trials which was almost always white.

Prosecutor Misconduct

Prosecutors are the most powerful people in the administration of justice. They are gatekeepers of the execution process and alone decide whether to charge a suspect with a capital crime. Prosecutor misconduct is prevalent in capital cases. Under post furman statutes through 2000, prosecutor misconduct was discovered in 31% of cases. A lot of this happens because they are rarely punished.

The Cost of Mistakes

The cost of wrongly convicted someone has been astronomically high in the past where the ford heights four received 36m in damages. However, the innocence act restricted compensation to a maximum of 100,000 per year.

Constitution Project

Recommends limiting the death penalty to five types of murder: (1) The murder of a police officer while engaged in duties, (2) murder in a correctional facility, (3) multiple murders, (4) murder involved torture, (5) murder affecting the judicial system.

Disparity

Refers to numerical differences based on some characteristic, such as race. There has been a pattern of disparity in the imposition of the death penalty.

Pre-1875 Studies of Deterrence in the Death Penalty

Sellin used three research designs (1) Compares murder rates of states with and without capital punishment. States were compared next to each other for evidence of deterrence and none was found. He also found that police killings did not increase, and in some states it was even higher. (2) Murder rates before and after the abolition and/or reinstatement of the death penalty. Before and after studies reveal no apparent deterrent effect. He evaluated many other countries in addition and found that there was no consistent data. (3) examines short-term murder trends just before and just after highly publicized executions. Some studies show a short term deterrent effect, but some studies show brutalization effects.

Two types of errors in capital cases

Serious/ prejudicial error can be shown by the defendant to have likely affected the outcome of the trial or to be the type of error that generally results in reversals. In addition, the error has to be properly preserved meaning that, (1) A timely objection has to be made, (2) a motion for a new trial based on the objection is made in a timely fashion. A harmless error is one, which by proof beyond a reasonable doubt, did not contribute to the verdict. Today, most errors are found harmless and do not result in reversals.

Sources of racial disparity/discrimination

Studies found that the source of post-furman racial disparity/discrimination is predominately in the discretionary actions of prosecutors and judges. Batson v. Kentucky has been irrelevant because many judges rarely deny actions by prosecutors. Another issue is problems with the jury. About 2-4 people on the jury would automatically vote the the DP because of exposure to negative media. Many jurors are easily more swayed by victim-impact statements of white families than black families. Jurors also ignore sentencing instructions they don't understand and mitigating evidence if they don't understand what mitigation means. This leads the penalty to be applied even more arbitrarily and discriminatory. White defendants typically benefit more from miscomprehension than black defendants. The more serious the crime, the less willing a juror was to switch from death to life, and vice versa.

Writ of Certiorari

The U.S. SC agreeing to hear a case. The Supreme Court will only grant this writ if the defendant has exhausted all other avenues of appeal and the case involved a substantial federal question as defined by the USSC.

The pretrial stage

The costs of capital punishment begin to mount soon after a potentially capital crime has been reported to police. With capital offenses, there is a lot more detail oriented expert investigation which costs more. These investigations take 3-5 times longer than other felonies. In 2003, some of these costs were three times greater than for nondeath cases. The costs of each capital indictment are believed to be enormous because each indictment must be prepared, even though only about 20% even reach trial. The MOST expensive part of the pretrial process frequently involved the motions filed in DP cases. 2-6 times more motions are typically filed than in other felony cases. A huge part of the expense for motions are the costs for expert testmimony. The average cost in 2005 of expert testimony was about 35,700 per trial with them making 100-150 an hour.

Theories of racial discrimination in the death penalty

The first and more obvious theory is that judges, jurors, prosecutors, and defense attorneys intentionally discriminate. Recent evidence shows that DP support by many whites is associated with prejudice against whites. A second theory is that many actors in the legal system today, believe they are not racially prejudiced which leads to the empathic divide.

Innocence Projects and Commissions

The first innocence project was the Centurion Ministries founded in 1983 by James McCloskey. This organization is dedicated to identifying innocent inmates. These have gotten college students involved who have gotten inmates exonerated. North Carolina was the first state to create an innocence commission to investigate prosecutor misconduct.

The Three Moratorium Movements

The first moratorium movement was during the decade 1968-1977 because of discrimination. The second moratorium movement, characterized by "discovery of evidence" spanned mid-90s to mid2000s though its effects still linger (this was during the time that the governor of Illinois granted clemency to 167 inmates. The third moratorium was characterized by the lethal injection controversy which began in the mid2000s and ended with the Baze v. Rees decision in 2008.

Lethal Gas

The gas chamber was enacted in 1921 by the Nevada legislature who passed a Humane death bill. Gee Jon was the first person to be executed by lethal gas for gangland murder. By 1970, 10 states used it, but by 1994 no states had it as a mandatory method. Lethal gas is currently an option in only four states.

Clarence Darrow

The most successful capital defense attorney in American history. He had over 100 cases and has never had a client sentenced to death.

Commutation

The reduction of a sentence, such as from death to life imprisonment.

Jurisdictions apply the death penalty unevenly.

The south has accounted for 82% of all post-furman executions. Those who are in rural areas are much more common to receive the death penalty than in urban areas. Poor counties often cannot afford the death penalty and have to sentence offenders to LWOP.

False Confessions

The third most common cause of errors in capital cases is false confessions, which accounted for 14 percent of errors in cases discovered by Bedau and Radelet. One of the most famous individuals who tortured individuals in order to get false confessions was Burge and his "Midnight Crew" who tortured more than 200 black men.

Discrimination based on social class

The wealthy are practically immune to the death penalty because capital cases usually are determined by the lawyer's skill. In Harris County Texas from 1992-1999 only one individual was charged with capital murder that was wealthy out of 504 individuals and he was eventually acquitted. In the same study by Phillips he discovered that social class determined whether or not the prosecutor sought the death penalty.

Innocence Protection Act of 2004

This act was created to prevent the innocent from executions. It had three major sections: (1) Exonerating the innocent through DNA testing. This section establishes rules and procedures governing applications for DNA testing by inmates in the federal system. If an applicant asserts that he or is she innocent and proposes DNA testing, hen they have to be DNA tested. The second part of this section Prohibits the destruction of DNA evidence in a federal criminal case while a defendant remains incarcerated with certain expectations. However, the government may destroy it if the defendant waives the right to DNA testing. The third part of this section is the "The Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant Program, and Incentive Grants to States to Ensure Consideration of Claims of Actual Innocence" This helps states pay for this testing and provides funding to establish procedures. (2) Improving The quality of representation in state capital cases. Its purpose is to increase the reliability of capital trial verdicts. (3) Compensation of the Wrongfully convicted which increases the maximum amount of damages that the U.S. Court of Federal claims may award from a flat 5k-50k in non-capital cases, and 100k in capital.

Execution

This is the most inexpensive phase of the capital punishment process. Lethal injection drugs cost $700 at the most. Gas chamber systems are the most expensive at $200,000 to build one.

Shoddy investigation and misconduct by the Police

This is the critical stage where most errors occur. Sometimes when officers get tunnel vision, they may even go as far as to lose, destroy, or manufacture evidence against a suspect. At least 134 prisoners have been entitled to new trials because of falsified police testimony that put them in prison. Gilchrist, who was involved in 3,000 cases from 80-93, used flawed testimony and forensic testing to get many offenders locked up.

Executioner Syndrome

Those afflicted with this problem believe their killing performs a public service by eliminating a problem.

Louis Jones, Jr (not in the book)

Was convicted of the abduction and murder of Tracie Joy McBride from Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas in 1995. He died by lethal injection.

Hanging

Was one of the first lawful execution methods used in the United States and was used frequently until the Electric Chair was used in 1890 in In Re Kemmler. It was employed as a means of mitigating a death sentence, which at the time, was the sentence for most crimes. The second use was for simulated hanging where they would hang an individual for some time and then cut them down and whip them. By the end of the seventeenth century, these were the responsibility of the sheriff. Between 1622 and 2002, at least 170 legal hangings were botched. Two states, New Hampshire and Washington, still allow hanging.

Borchard's Research

Wrote convicting the innocent which followed 65 miscarriages of justice and ended up with the exonerations of them.