Criminal Justice Final Exam
In Texas, ____ in 4 death row inmates was represented by a lawyer who had been reprimanded, suspended and placed on probation by the state bar association.
1
In Texas, inmates face a _____ in 3 chance of being executed without having the case properly investigated by a competent attorney.
1
______ in 4 death penalty cases result in the death penalty.
1
________% of people on Texas' death row are other (not black, white, hispanic).
1
What are Texas' compensation statutes for wrongly convicted felons?
1) $80,000 each year of wrongful incarceration 2) free college tuition 3) financial and personal counseling 4) lump sum mixed with monthly payment
Who is Gary Graham?
1) 1 eyewitness who was 30-40 feet away identified him 2) Texas 3) 2 other witnesses who were nearby said Graham was NOT the person they saw but they were never called to testify
Board of Pardons and Paroles
1) 18 members of the Board examine case separately 2) do not need to discuss case 3) there are no written guidelines 4) explanations are not required 5) fax, mail or call in vote 6) appointed by the governor 7) doesn't really look at petitions
Which supreme court cases influenced capital punishment?
1) Furman v. Georgia (1972) 2) Gregg v. Georgia (1976)
Why is Texas #1 in executions?
1) Texas' appellate judges are elected office, meaning they have to serve according to pleasure of the public 2) Texas does not have a public defender system for indigent defendants - instead relies on court - appointed attorneys with likely little to no capital experience 3) until the early 1990s, Texas did not permit jurors to adequately consider mitigating evidence in the sentencing phase 4) Texas gives the bulk of clemency powers to its Board of Pardon and Paroles and not to the governor
What does the Willingham case mean for Texas?
1) Thrown Texas into another wrongful death penalty case, although this time, defendant has already been executed 2) Rick Perry disassembled the commission founded to look at this case 2 days before their results were to be made public 3) constant scrutiny about this case and arson investigators, internationally
What are the reasons for the failure of the deterrent effect?
1) assume that there is a model of murder as a rational act 2) isn't swift or certain 3) distrust in the criminal justice system due to wrongful convictions
Why do people think it is necessary to kill killers?
1) avoid blood feuds 2) maintain peace and order 3) religious authority 4) moral philosophy 5) deterrence
What are some concerns regarding lethal injection?
1) current drug used in the first injection has stopped being made and shipped to the United States 2) involvement of health personnel - violates virtually all codes of professional ethics 3) potential for physical suffering - many botched executions 4) mixture used in Texas and Tennessee is banned for use on animals but we use it on humans
What happened in the Roper v. Simmons (2005) case?
1) dealt with juveniles and the death penalty 2) stated that people must be 18 at the time a crime is committed to be eligible for the death penalty
What happened in the Atkins v. Georgia (2002) case?
1) dealt with mental illness and the death penalty 2) established that cannot sentence or execute people who are mentally ill to death 3) generally, people with IQs under 70 are not eligible for the death penalty
What are some suggested changes to the Board of Pardons and Paroles?
1) deliberate as a group 2) deliberations should be public 3) consider rehabilitation 4) stay execution when inmate has had an obviously incompetent appellate attorney
What are some ways to do a better job when witnesses are identifying a subject?
1) double-blind admission of lineup (meaning the witness nor the person conducting the lineup knows who the right person is) 2) tell the witness that the suspect may not be present at all
"brown stains"
1) evidence of use of a liquid accelerant 2) experiments show that brown stains are common in all fires, usually just a result of charred debris mixed with water
On the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Online shows...
1) execution dates 2) how long each inmate has been on death row 3) a list of people who have already been executed 4) the last statements of inmates 5) gender and racial statistics 6) a list of offenders that are not on death row 7) a list of offenders who are sentenced to death from each county
Burns "hot and fast" because of an accelerant
1) experiments have proved wood and gasoline-induced fires burn at approximately the SAME temperature
Who is Ruben Cantu?
1) eyewitness coercion 2) Texas 3) No physical evidence 4) a key witness and co-defendant have said that Texas executed an innocent man
What are some causes of wrongful convictions?
1) eyewitness error 2) snitch 3) government misconduct 4) false confession 5) junk science
Who is Carlos De Luna?
1) false identification case in Texas 2) man who did the crime looked like him 3) De Luna had a romantic past with the victim 4) De Luna had a history of similar knife attacks and told people that he did it
What is pressing?
1) form of execution 2) lay the person down and stack stuff on the person's back
What is draw & quartering?
1) form of execution 2) tie the person's arms and legs 3) the horse pulls the person 4) sometimes the person's limbs fall off before death
Texas' Clemency process
1) governor has the power to grant a one-time 30 day reprieve (rarely used) 2) rehabilitation does not appear to be a significant factor
What were arson investigators qualifications in the past?
1) high school education 2) 40 hour course on fire investigation 3) pass a written exam 4) bulk of training came on the job passed down from veteran investigators 5) reports came from old-wives tales about fire and burn patterns
Cameron Todd Willingham
1) his case brought international attention to this issue 2) convicted and executed for arson deaths of his 3 young daughters 3) refused to plead guilty in return for a life sentence 4) couldn't afford an attorney 5) psychiatrist who evaluated him was expelled from the American Psychiatrist Association for violating ethics and saying that he was 100% certain that individuals he evaluated would engage in future criminal acts 6) evidence against was all the aforementioned myths and was considered airtight 7) no motive was ever found
What are some myths of arson?
1) idea of "crazed glass" 2) burns "hot and fast" because of a liquid accelerant 3) "flashover" 4) burn and pour patterns and configurations 5) "brown stains"
Why do people falsely confess?
1) intimidation of the suspect by law enforcement 2) use of force by law enforcement or threat of force 3) fear that failure to confess will yield a harsher punishment 4) compromised reasoning ability - could be due to hunger, exhaustion, stress, AGE
What makes a capital punishment trial unique?
1) it has 2 parts 2) in the first part, they determine whether or not the offender is innocent or guilty 2) in the second part, they determine the offender's sentence
The 2 ways in Texas that you'll really be executed are:
1) killing a cop 2) killing a child
What are other reasons to try people for murder?
1) leverage (if don't tell what they want to hear, say will put on death row) 2) absence of other punishments (before, not many options, but now life without parole)
What is a blood feud?
1) long, vicious cycles of killing 2) examples - the mafia, gang warfare
In Maryland, the costs for the death penalty cases from 1978 to 1999 that were pursued cost $___________. However, there were only _______ executions that resulted from these trials.
186 million; 5
Of the first 250 DNA exonerations in the United States, _______ of them involved eyewitnesses who were wrong.
190
The last military execution was in _______.
1961
From ________ to _______, there were no federal prison executions.
1963; 2001
Between _______ and _______, there has been an average of 3 exonerations per year.
1973; 1999
A lot of times now, offenders get ______lawyers.
2
How many clemencies have been granted to people on Texas' death row?
2
BTK wasn't caught for over _____ years.
20
Appeals cost from $__________ to much more.
200,000
Between ________ and _____, there has been an average of 5 exonerations per year. _____ were in Florida, ______ were in Illinois, and _____ were in Texas.
2000; 2011; 23; 20; 12
From ______ to _______, there were 3 federal prison executions.
2001; 2013
Since 1976, each execution in Florida has cost $_______________.
22 million
Only about ______% of capital punishment trials result in death because people are not sure if they correctly convict people often.
25
Over _____% of wrongful convictions are overturned by DNA and involved in a false confession.
25
_________ clemencies have been granted since 1976. _________ of these clemencies were in Illinois.
268; 187
Findings show that even if photos are viewed one by one, culprits were correctly identified only _____% of the time.
27
Only ______ states have compensation statutes.
27
______% of prisoners on Texas' death row are Hispanic.
29
_____ people have been executed by hanging. The most recent person executed by this method was in 1996.
3
_______ people have been executed by the firing squad. The most recent person executed by this method was executed on June 18, 2010 in Utah.
3
More than __________ inmates in ________ states are awaiting execution.
3,100; 35
Texas' current death row population is ______ prisoners.
300
_______% of people on Texas' death row are white.
31
Capital punishment is legal in _______ states.
33
Since 1976, ________ states have had executions, approximately ________% of which have been in Texas (493 people).
34; 40
______% of the prisoners on Texas' death row are black.
39
Those who killed whites are more than _______ times more likely to be sentenced to death than those who killed blacks and over _______ times more likely than those who killed Latinos.
3; 4
Texas accounts for at least _____% of executions in the United States.
40
How many people are on Florida's death row?
411
_______ states have access to post-conviction DNA but it is very limited in scope.
49
How many executions have taken place in Texas so far after 1976?
493
In 2012, ______ states were responsible for over _______% of executions in the United States.
4; 75
Texas has had ____ executions so far in 2013 with _____ scheduled through July 2013.
5; 7
The Federal Appellate Court of Texas is made up of the ______________.
5th Circuit Court of Appeals
Over half of the _______ people on the federal prison death row are from _________ states, including ____ from Texas.
60; Southern; 12
The United States government and military have _________ people awaiting execution.
67
There are currently only ______ defendants on death row from the military.
7
How many prisoners are on California's death row?
724
Over ______% of the murder victims in cases resulting in an execution were white.
75
_________% of people who get the death penalty killed white people.
75
___________ witnesses identify criminal suspects.
75,000
Life without parole costs from about $_________ to $__________.
750,000; 1.1 million
How many executions took place in Texas before 1976?
755
The South accounts for about ________% of executions in the United States. The South also has the __________ murder rate.
80; highest
_______% of people have been executed by the lethal injection (1,157).
87
The Board of Pardons and Paroles has rejected _____% of cases since 1993.
99
_____% of inmates will start appealing more after automatic appeal.
99.9
We are currently seeking the death penalty for the Fort Hood shooter, ____________.
Nidal Hasan
What did Furman v. Georgia determine?
No death penalty in the United States anymore
The __________ has the lowest murder rate but accounts for ______ than _____% of all executions.
Northeast; less; 1
The journalism class at ________________ started investigating a case and found out that lots of people are wrongly accused and placed on death row.
Northwestern
In ________________, the Supreme Court will return to the question of what the constitution has to say about the use of eyewitness evidence.
November 2013
Which state does not have access to post-conviction DNA?
Oklahoma
__________ people support the death penalty a bit more than ________ people.
Older; younger
_______________ is the single most reliable predictor of whether someone will be sentenced to die or not. ____________ is also a big factor.
Race of the victim; status of the victim
__________ seems to vanish when the murder is especially brutal and if the defendant has a ______________.
Race; history of violent crimes
_______________________ is a vital hallmark of the American judicial system.
Right to an attorney
The _______ had always had higher rates of violent crime and has the majority of impoverished people.
South
The ________ supports the death penalty more than the _________.
South; North
_______________ has improved, so it is easier to prove _____________.
Technology; innocence
____________ was the last female executed on September 23, 2010 in Virginia. _____________ is scheduled in Texas for June 26, 2013.
Teresa Wilson-Lewis; Kimberly McCarthy
___________ has one of the best compensation statutes.
Texas
Texas' death row population is smaller than other states' because...
Texas executes a lot of people
______________, the OKC bomber, was executed in June 2001. He was the ______ federal prisoner executed since _____. He was executed very quickly.
Timothy McVeigh; first; 1963
____________ is the second biggest executing states after Texas. However, it is still nowhere near Texas.
Virginia
____________ people make up more of the United States population.
White
Who was BTK?
a serial killer who killed 8 people by Binding, Torturing and Killing them
Inmates cannot have ___________ or ___________ at their last meals, but they can have pretty much everything else.
alcohol; cigarettes
There are too many ______ juries with _______ defendants.
all-white; minority
Texas has a "Law of Parties," which...
allows offenders to be sentenced to death if present while a capital crime is committed; based on the offender being criminally responsible for the conduct of another
Texas will eventually make up even more of the executions percentage because many states....
are slowing down their executions
What happens after a prisoner is sentenced to death?
automatic appeal
The biggest issue for prisoners facing capital punishment charges is that they....
cannot afford good lawyers and get appointed attorneys
If you shoot your spouse for sleeping with someone else it is not ____________. You still get time in prison, but the crime is considered a ________.
capital murder; crime of passion
Death penalty cases are hard to _______ and _________.
close; take up a lot of police time
The Texas Criminal Justice System is ______________.
decentralized
The United States military has a ____________ prison population than the states.
different
Prosecutors ______________ to defendants whether snitches have received or been promised _________, __________, ______ or anything else of value.
disclose; leniency; immunity; cash
We have a _________ number of minorities on death row.
disproportionate
Who pays for the death penalty in Texas?
each county pays for its own trials and the state appeals process
How do people prevent false confessions?
electronic recording of the interrogation
Law enforcement authorities _____________ their discussions with potential snitches.
electronically record
Snitches must be _________________ to record incriminating statements.
electronically wired
Smaller counties that cannot afford the death penalty themselves are...
essentially subsidizing the "wealthier" counties seeking the death penalty
States that repeal capital punishment are allowed to __________, but they usually ______________.
execute; move the people to the general prison population for a life sentence
Capital punishment is _______. The minimum amount for the EASIEST capital punishment case is $__________.
expensive; 3 million
In Texas, attorneys have to be able to pass an ________ and get _________ to work on death row.
extra test; extra certification
Many inmates have been convicted and put to death based solely on ___________.
eyewitness identifications
Killing killers is _______ and ________ in theory.
fair; rational
Who is Cameron Todd Willingham?
faulty forensics case in Texas
Over centuries, _________ crimes are punishable by death. The United States restricted capital punishment to ____________.
fewer; murder
Capital punishment dates back to the ________ recorded societies.
first
Memory is ______at best, _______ under stress and subject to major _______ and _______ under extreme duress
fragile; worse; distortion; contamination
People are ______________ from the death penalty.
going away
Almost ________ of all murder victims are black.
half
How does an electronic recording of the interrogation help prevent false confessions?
helps the suspect and assists law enforcement (no question of torture, no question of coercion, ensures suspects' rights are not violated)
States with the death penalty have _________ rates of homicide than those without it.
higher
People with ____________ are usually less likely to support the death penalty.
higher educations
The United States has the _________ murder rate of any _______________ nation and is the only one with ____________.
highest; industrialized; capital punishment
Most of the cost of capital punishment is for _________, __________, ___________ and ___________.
investigation; trial; preparation; conducting trials
Judges in most states have their calls go up through other people, but in Texas, judges are more _________.
keepers
After 2003, Texas was unable to post ____________.
last meal requests
As of last year, inmates can no longer request _________________ in Texas.
last meals
Capital punishment trials are __________, ________ and generally produce a ___________.
lengthy; expensive; life sentence
They do ____________ now to execute people because this type of execution is considered more humane.
lethal injections
Wrongful convictions and jailhouse informants have caused
many people to be wrongfully accused and have provided terrible evidence sometimes
The United States has _______ admitted that it wrongly executed people but _______ show proof.
never; records
Despite its ability to prove innocence, some courts will not consider _________ after trial.
newly discovered DNA evidence
Over half of the people on Federal prison death row are __________.
non-white
Eyewitness identifications are wrong about ________ of the time.
one-third
You cannot legally execute someone with ________________.
outstanding appeals
Researchers say that it is __________ to base a conviction on a witness' identification of a stranger.
perilous
Some laws do not permit access to DNA when the defendant originally ________ or ________.
pled guilty; confessed to the crime
A poll in 2012 found that ____________ ranked the death penalty _______ among ways to reduce violent crime. They also thought the death penalty was the ______________ way to use taxpayers' money.
police chiefs; last; least effective
They are allowing very few witnesses at executions partially because of _________.
protests
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice Online makes lots of information ________.
public
Perhaps the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty is ____________________.
quality of representation
Capital punishment in the federal system is ________.
rarely used
Capital punishment in the military is __________.
rarely used
Other informants lie to...
reduce their potential sentence or put the blame on someone else
Jailhouse snitches ask for _____________.
reduced sentences
Why was Houston kicked out of the 2012 Olympics?
said partially the negative connotation of the death row rates and don't want any association with this
The number of new death sentences in 2012 was the ________________ since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
second lowest
The Federal prison death row is ________ to the state death row.
similar
Some people think the death penalty, poverty and violence in the South goes back to ________ or relates to _______.
slavery; religion
Most often violent attacks are done by __________.
someone that you know
Every Texas resident is contributing to the enormous costs of the death penalty appeals because....
state tax dollars pay for them
To a jury, there is nothing more convincing that a live human being who ____________, ____________ and _____________.
takes the stand; points out the defendant; definitely says that that is the one
What is mitigating?
telling things that can bring out sympathy so the prisoner will be sentenced to life imprisonment rather than death
What is aggravating?
telling things that can bring out the worst in the offender
Houston is known as....
the killing field
What happened to people on death row already with IQs under 75?
they were moved to mental facilities and got life imprisonment without option of parole
Some states pay more for ______________.
time on death row
Defendants with court appointed attorneys are more than ______ as likely to be sentenced to death than defendants with private attorneys regardless of race.
twice
The death penalty is more _______ driven than ________ driven.
victim; offender
Texas hardly ever executes ________.
women
Who is the most likely to falsely confess?
younger people (maybe don't understand the criminal justice system)
Death row inmates are about _______% of the prison population but account for about _________% of the exonerated.
0.25; 22
Informants contributed to wrongful convictions in ________% of cases.
18
What constitutes capital murder in Texas?
1) murder of an individual under 10 2) murder of a police officer or fireman who is acting in official capacity and who the person knows is a police officer 3) murder during escape or attempted escape from a penal execution 4) murder while incarcerated of a correctional employee 5) murder during the commission or attempted commission of kidnapping, burglary, robbery, sexual assault, arson, retaliation or terroristic threat 6) murder in retaliation for or on account of the service or status of other person as a judge or member of any court 7) murder while incarcerated serving a 99 year sentence for conviction of kidnapping, aggravated assault or aggravate robbery 8) murder of more than one person 9) murder while incarcerated in a penal institution for a conviction of murder or capital murder 10) murder for remuneration or promise of remuneration or employs another to commit murder for remuneration (murder for hire)
What are some alarming disparities in the Willingham case?
1) only accelerant found was on the front porch where he kept his grill 2) no other signs of accelerant were found in the house 3) most likely due to faulty wiring 4) several eyewitness accounts that had contradictions and a jailhouse snitch that claimed Willingham confessed
Who is Odell Barnes
1) oversight by defense team 2) forensic deficiencies 3) credibility of prosecution witnesses 4) Texas
How did automatic appeal begin?
1) part of the Gregg v. Georgia decision in 1976 2) there were many other appellate options but those options required attorneys or extensive knowledge of the legal system
"crazed glass"
1) rapid heating from a fire fueled with an accelerant 2) 50 houses in California burned by brush and wildfires and "crazed glass" was found, despite no accelerant being used
How are they sanitizing executions?
1) reducing the visibility 2) making the executions late at night 3) making the executions private 4) allowing very few witnesses at executions
What did Gregg v. Georgia determine?
1) reinstated death penalty in the United States with special circumstances 2) Death row was at 0 3) all 1972 people that had gotten off were not put back on death row (illegal to go back and make punishments harsher)
What was added in the Gregg v. Georgia decision?
1) separate sentencing hearing 2) use of aggravating and mitigating
What are some examples of things that incompetent attorneys do?
1) sleeping through trial 2) showing up drunk 3) doing drugs in the bathroom during recess 4) lack of investigation 5) unsure of how to proceed during the trial
What are some methods that they used to use when executing people?
1) stoning 2) decapitation 3) draw & quartering 4) hanging 5) burning at the stake 6) pressing 7) electrocution
Who is Claude Jones?
1) strand of hair was his case's only evidence 2) DNA tested in 2008 and no match 3) Wichita 4) used jailhouse snitch (didn't tell the judge that he was promised a lower sentence after testifying)
5th Circuit Court of Appeals
1) strongly pro-death penalty 2) few roadblocks to executions in the states in which it has jurisdiction 3) compared to neighboring 9th circuit
What are some myths of capital punishment?
1) that it is cheaper 2) that it is deterrent
What happens in the clemency process in Texas?
1) the governor must have the Board of Pardons and Paroles' recommendation for clemency 2) the governor is allowed to call for a 30 day reprieve but that's it (in most other states, the governor has the final word)
"Flashover"
1) thought it occurred very quickly in a fire using a liquid accelerant 2) all depends on what is burning, amount of oxygen in the room and other factors
burn and pour patterns and other configurations
1) v-shape and other burn marks show multiple points of origin 2) experiments show these so-called pour patterns occur on own
As of May 16, 2013, __________ people have been executed since reinstatement in 1976.
1,332
Harris has accounted for over _______% of all executions in the United States.
10
How many women are on Texas' death row?
10
If California repealed the death penalty today, it would save $___________ a year, eventually amounting to $__________ per year.
100 million; 130 million
Texas has ________ crimes that are punishable by murder. Most states have only ______ or _______.
10; 7; 8
______ people have been executed by the gas chamber. The most recent person executed by this method was in 1999.
11
How many innocent people have been freed from Texas' death row?
12
______ of the people executed were female.
13
________ of Texas' 254 counties have never sent a single offender to death row.
136
Since 1973, ________ people have been released from death row with evidence of their innocence.
140
Since 1973, _______ people have been exonerated from death row (not including the hundreds of other people exonerated who are serving life sentences).
144
_________ people have been executed by the electric chair. The most recent person executed by this method was executed on March 18, 2010.
158
Only _______ states actually perform executions.
16
______% to _______% of people who killed black people get the death penalty.
16; 17
____________ people make up almost 40% of our prison population but only account for ______% of our entire population.
Black; 12
In _________, over 200 crimes are punishable by murder, including some white collar crimes. These prisoners are executed within _______.
China; months
_____________ is the state that just repealed its rights to perform executions.
Connecticut
States like ___________, __________ and ___________ just repealed capital punishment recently, but they still have a death penalty population.
Connecticut; Maryland; New Jersey
Texas holds the highest number of ___________ since 1994 (includes non-capital cases).
DNA exonerations
The _________ ruled that Texas' clemency process is ___________ but just barely.
Federal court; constitutional
After the _________ decision, it was determined that capital punishment would take place only with ______________.
Gregg; special circumstances
What is the most productive capital punishment county in the world?
Harris County
The cost of capital punishment has put a huge toll on the entire county, especially ______________.
Houston
_________________ is often cited as a reason for a new trial in appeals.
Ineffective assistance of counsel
________ don't understand the instructions the judge gives many times because the instructions are _________, __________ and _______.
Jurors; complex; difficult; lengthy
_______________ process takes a long time in capital punishment cases.
Jury selection
When BTK was caught, _________ had the death penalty. However, he wasn't eligible for the death penalty because...
Kansas; it hadn't been reinstated yet
Two other federal executions occurred in 2003. The prisoners names were ________ and ________.
Louis Jones; Juan Raul Garza.
The ___________ case deals with juveniles and the death penalty.
Martha Moxley
_______ support the death penalty more than _______.
Men; women
___________ seem to be executed the most often.
Minorities
