Report on Capital Punishment: Critical Issues in US Criminal Justice

This report examines the critical issues surrounding capital punishment in the United States. It begins by analyzing the reasons behind the Illinois governor's decision to halt executions, assessing the validity of his concerns regarding the execution of innocent individuals. The report then delves into the 'Innocence Project,' detailing its goals, procedures, and effectiveness in exonerating wrongly convicted individuals through DNA evidence. Furthermore, it considers the impact of the Supreme Court cases of Roper v. Simmons and Atkins v. Virginia, exploring whether these decisions indicate a trend towards limiting capital punishment. The report also discusses the controversial case of Stanley "Tookie" Williams, examining the reasons for his execution and whether it was justified. Finally, the report concludes by discussing the future of capital punishment in the US, suggesting that the practice may be on the decline.

Running Head: Capital Punishment; US 1
Critical Issues in Criminal Justice in the United States of America
Name of Student
Institutional Affiliation

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Why Illinois Governor Stopped Approving Executions..................................................................3
Was his reason valid?..................................................................................................................3
The ‘Innocence Project’...................................................................................................................3
Roper v Simmons and Atkins v Virginia..........................................................................................4
Stanley “Tookie” Williams..............................................................................................................5
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................6
References........................................................................................................................................7
Articles.............................................................................................................................................7
Cases............................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Punishment by death in the United States is clearly reducing, with a lot of states currently
opting to scrap it from their legal options for punishment. Just recently, Governor Gavin
Newsom of California said in an announcement that he would grant mercy to everyone awaiting
administration of death punishment in San Quentin. A report by The Washington Post opines
that this decision mirrors a looming end to death penalty in America (Garrett, 2019).
Why Illinois Governor Stopped Approving Executions
In 2011 Governor Pat Quinn signed a senate bill into law that made Illinois the 16th state
to remove capital punishment from its law in America. Back in 2003 Governor George Ryan put
in place a prohibition on state administration of the death penalty. The governor raised concerns
over the execution of innocents on the death row (Barry, 2016). During the institution of the
moratorium the governor is quoted as saying that no one would be executed “Until I can be sure
with moral certainty that no innocent man or woman is facing a lethal injection.”
Was his reason valid?
The governor’s reason for putting a ban on the executions was valid in the opinion of this
study. He was evidently concerned with the killing of innocents. It is generally held that it would
be better to let guilty person walk away without punishment than to convict an innocent one
(Stratton, 2015). The argument behind it, which this paper agrees with is that by acquitting a
guilty person a court makes one mistake; that of letting the criminal go unpunished. However
when an innocent person is punished the court is deemed to make two mistakes; one being letting
the guilty go without punishment as in the initial case and the other being putting an innocent
one through punishment. Governor Ryan’s move was therefore not just valid but welcome
because it was motivated by a series of executions of innocent people whom new evidence to
prove innocence emerged after their executions.
The ‘Innocence Project’
This is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1992 at Cardozo School of Law.
Its Goals and Procedures

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This organization aims to absolve people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes by
using DNA evidence (Roberts, 2018). It has a department that was formed in 2012 called ‘The
Innocence Project’s Strategic Litigation’ that does more detailed activity through the courts that
works by assessing the reasons for wrongful convictions and using them to prevent the
happening of future injustices. According to the organization’s website, the 2012 department has
three full time lawyers working towards informing many of those involved in the legal process;
from judges and attorneys to policy makers. They claim that these lawyers bring to the attention
of these people the inaccuracy of unproved forensic evidence. Also, the unreliability of
eyewitness identification. This is reportedly done through applying for amicus briefs and
deliberation with defense lawyers throughout America with the help of the Science and Research
Department.
Whether the project is effective
Since its founding in 1992, the organization has managed to prove the innocence of 273
people by DNA testing through the Innocence Project. 17 of them are said to have been spending
time on the death row. The organization’s ‘groundbreaking’ application of DNA technology has
played a big part in demonstrating that there are indeed many innocent convictions in America
that go unnoticed. However, looking at the number of people exonerated being a mere 273 in the
existence of over 25 years of this organization raises a few questions on its effectiveness. Whilst
acknowledging the high cost of DNA procedures and the rigors of rekindling ‘closed’ cases to
help prove innocence of convicted fellows, this study is of the opinion that this organization may
not very effective.
Roper v Simmons and Atkins v Virginia
In the first case, (Roper v Simmons 2005) the supreme court of the United States made a
holding that it was against the Constitution of the country for the courts to give capital
punishment to convicts for crimes they committed before attaining the age of majority.
In Atkins v Virginia (2002) the highest court of the United States made a ruling that it
would amount into an infringement of the Eighth Amendment for the courts to give capital
punishment to convicts who are persons with disabilities. The court deemed such to amount into
cruel punishment of the disadvantaged persons (Mitchell, 2016).

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Conclusion Derived from these Cases Regarding Future Challenges to Death Penalty
These court decisions meted out in 2002 and 2005 show a certain trend; selected groups
of people are gradually being exempted from capital punishment by the courts. The various
states continue to pass bills to ban the punishment and with this the punishment by death is
slowly leaving the U.S legal system (Bohm, 2016).
Stanley “Tookie” Williams
Stanley “Tookie” Williams was one of the last people to suffer capital punishment in
California (Rice, 2017).
His Crimes
He confessed to cofounding the Crisps, widely considered to be one of the deadliest
gangs of those times. He was accused of committing murder of four people while conducting
robberies.
Why his Execution was considered Controversial
His execution is considered controversial for a number of reasons. An example being the
longer time it took to conduct the execution procedure on him. For instance it took around 12
minutes for the person administering the lethal injection to find a vein in his arm which was
rather fibrous. Having reformed and even becoming a peace crusader who got himself a Nobel
Prize nomination, many were of the opinion that Williams did not deserve the execution (Rohde,
2016). Barbara Becnel, a friend of Williams who was present at the execution, termed Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger to be a ‘cold-blooded murderer’ for ‘murdering an innocent man.’
Opinion: Should he have been Executed?
One of the purposes of the law in regulating the conduct of society is to mete out
punishment to criminals so as to deter others from committing such crimes. This is the specific
purpose of capital punishment. However, the criminal in this case had reformed and taken it as
an obligation of his to try convince other gangs to embrace peace. He had even received
recognition for these efforts. This study’s opinion is that he should never have been executed.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, it is just a matter of time before the United States witnesses a complete end
to capital punishment.

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References
Articles
Barry, K. (2016). The death penalty & the dignity clauses. Iowa L. Review, 102,383.
Bohm, R. (2016). Deathquest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital
Punishment in the United States: Routledge.
Garett, B. (2019, March 18). Guest Post: The End of the Death Penalty in America as we know
it. Retrieved 4th June 2019 from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/03/18/guest-post-end-death-penalty-
america-we-know-it/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.079c272fef75
Mitchell, J. (2016). Death penalty commentary series: Capital punishment and the courts. Harv.
L. Rev., 130, 269.
Rice, S. (2017). Darkness to light: Precedural injustices as crisis for capital punishment
legitimacy. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 15(3), 13.
Roberts, J. (2018). The innocence movement and misdemeanors. BUL Rev., 98, 779.
Rohde, S. (2016). Choosing life: Reflections on the movement to end capital punishment. Sw. L.
Rev., 46, 219.
Stratton, G. (2015). Wrongfully convicting the innocent: A state crime? Critical Criminology,
23(1), 21-37.
Cases
Atkins v Virginia [2002] 536 U.S 304
Roper v Simmons [2005] 543 U.S 551