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Irreversible Error Copyright © 2014 by The Constitution Project. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of The Constitution Project. For other information about this report, or any other work of The Constitution Project, please visit our website at www.constitutionproject.org or email us at [email protected]. Cover art designed by Elias Moose THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT STAFF Larry Akey Scott Roehm Director of Communications Senior Counsel, Rule of Law Program Maria Cortina Hispanic Outreach Fellow Virginia E. Sloan President Jennifer Donley Development Coordinator Katherine Stern Senior Counsel, Christopher Durocher Rule of Law Program Government Affairs Counsel Sarah E. Turberville Louis Fisher Senior Counsel, Scholar in Residence Criminal Justice Program Kayla Haran Stephen I. Vladeck Program Assistant Supreme Court Fellow Sarah McLean Brian Yourish Communications Coordinator Office Manager I. Scott Messinger Chief Operating Officer The Constitution Project promotes constitutional rights and values by forging a non-ideological consensus aimed at sound legal interpretations and policy solutions. The Constitution Project | iii Irreversible Error iv | The Constitution Project TABLE OF CONTENTS The Death Penalty Committee .......................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................. xiii Preface ................................................................................................................. xv Snapshot of Legal and Policy Landscape ........................................................... xxi Advocacy Efforts of The Constitution Project in Furtherance of the Death Penalty Committee’s Recommendations ........................................................... xxxi Black Letter Recommendations .......................................................................... xliii Chapter 1: Safeguarding Innocence and Preventing Wrongful Execution ....... 1 Chapter 2: Forensic Evidence and Labs ............................................................. 11 Chapter 3: Access to Justice ................................................................................ 23 Chapter 4: Custodial Interrogations ................................................................... 35 Chapter 5: Ensuring Reliable Eyewitness Testimony ........................................ 51 Chapter 6: Reserving Capital Punishment for the Most Heinous Offenses and Most Culpable Offenders .......................................................................... 71 Chapter 7: Ensuring Effective Counsel .............................................................. 85 Chapter 8: Duty of Judge and Jury .................................................................... 97 Chapter 9: Role of Prosecutors .......................................................................... 113 Chapter 10: Safeguarding Racial Fairness and Proportionality ........................ 125 Chapter 11: Executive Clemency ....................................................................... 131 Chapter 12: Execution Procedures ..................................................................... 137 Appendix I: State-by-State Execution Procedures ............................................. 145 Appendix II: Death Penalty Statistics ................................................................ 157 The Constitution Project | v Irreversible Error vi | The Constitution Project THE CONSTITUTION PROJECT’S DEATH PENALTY COMMITTEE Co-Chairs Gerald Kogan Chief Justice, Florida Supreme Court, 1987-1998; Chief Prosecutor, Homicide and Capital Crimes Division, Dade County, Florida, 1960-1967 Mark White Governor, Texas, 1983-1987; Attorney General, Texas, 1979-1983; Secretary of State, Texas, 1973-1977; Assistant Attorney General, Texas, 1965-1969 Beth A. Wilkinson Special Attorney to the U.S. Attorney General, Oklahoma City bombing case, 1995-2001; Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of New York, 1991-1995 Members David I. Bruck Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Virginia Capital Case Clearinghouse, Washington and Lee University School of Law; Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel William G. Broaddus Attorney General, Virginia, 1985-1986 W.J. Michael Cody Attorney General, Tennessee, 1998-2001 Mark Earley, Jr. Attorney General, Virginia, 1998-2001; Senator, Virginia State Senate 1988-1998 O.H. Eaton, Jr. Judge, Florida 18th Judicial Circuit, 1986-2010 John J. Gibbons Director and Founder, John J. Gibbons Fellowship in Public Interest and Constitutional Law; Chief Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1987-1990 Charles A. Gruber Chief of Police, South Barrington Police Department, 1999-2008; President, International Association of Chiefs of Police, 1990; President, Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, 1982 The Constitution Project | vii Irreversible Error Dr. David P. Gushee Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University Sam D. Millsap, Jr. District Attorney, Bexar County, Texas, 1983-1987 Sheila M. Murphy President, Board of Directors, Illinois Death Penalty Education Project; Presiding Judge, Il- linois Sixth District, 1992-1999 Chase Riveland Secretary, Department of Corrections, Washington, 1986-1997; Executive Director, Colorado Department of Corrections, 1983-1986; Deputy Director, Wisconsin Division of Corrections, 1980-1982; Superintendent, Portage Correctional Institution, Wisconsin, 1980-1982 David A. Schwartz President & CEO, DS Baseball LLC William S. Sessions Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1987-1993; Judge, United States District Court, Western District of Texas, 1974-1987; Chief Judge, 1980-1987; United States Attorney, West- ern District of Texas, 1971-1974 B. Frank Stokes, Jr. Private Investigator; Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1971-2001 Jennifer Thompson-Cannino Author, activist; Member, North Carolina Innocence Commission; Member, Advisory Com- mittee for Active Voices Scott Turow Author; Member, Illinois’ Executive Ethics Commission; Assistant U.S. Attorney, Northern District of Illinois, 1979-1986; Chair, Illinois State Appellate Defender’s Commission, 2002- 2004 John W. Whitehead President, The Rutherford Institute Dr. Reginald Wilkinson Director, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (DRC), 1991-2006; DRC em- ployee, 1973; President, American Correctional Association; Vice Chair for North America, International Corrections and Prison Association; President, Ohio Correctional and Court Services Association; Founder, Ohio chapter, National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice viii | The Constitution Project Death Penalty Committee Rev. Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III Executive Director, American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Churches, USA Past Members Many distinguished individuals who have participated in The Constitution Project’s Death Penalty Committee over the years have resigned from the Committee for a variety of reasons, including running for elective office, retirement, and other obligations. They have helped shape this and past reports and we are grateful for their contributions. Rev. James E. Andrews* Stated Clerk, General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (USA), 1973-1996 Charles F. Baird Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, 1991-1999; Judge, Criminal District Court, Travis County, Texas, 2007-2011 Harry Barnes, Jr.* United States Ambassador, Romania, 1974-1977; India, 1981-1985; and Chile, 1985-1988 Bob Barr Member, United States House of Representatives (R-GA), 1995-2003 Charles B. Blackmar* Chief Justice, Missouri Supreme Court, 1989-1991 Robert J. Burns Judge, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, 1979-1997 Rosalynn Carter Vice Chair, The Carter Center; First Lady of the United States, 1977-1981 Mario M. Cuomo Governor, New York, 1983-1994 James A. Fry Assistant District Attorney, Dallas County, Texas, 1980-1982; Chairman, Texas State Bar Grievance Committee Thomas A. Gottschalk Executive Vice President and General Counsel, General Motors Corporation, 1994-2006 The Constitution Project | ix Irreversible Error Asa Hutchinson Undersecretary, Department of Homeland Security, 2003-2005; Administrator, Drug En- forcement Administration, 2001-2003; Member, United States House of Representatives (R- AR), 1997-2001; United States Attorney, Western District of Arkansas, 1982-1985 Peter D. Keisler Acting Attorney General, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division, 2003-2007; Prin- cipal Deputy Associate Attorney General, 2002-2003; Acting Associate Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice, 2007 Cardinal William H. Keeler Archbishop of Baltimore, 1989-2007 Paula M. Kurland Victim Advocate; founding Member, Bridges to Life (a victim-offender program in Texas) Ann Landers* Syndicated Columnist, 1955-2002 David Lawrence, Jr. Executive Editor, Detroit Free Press, 1978-1989; Publisher, Miami Herald, 1989-1999 Timothy Lynch Director, Project on Criminal Justice, Cato Institute Abner J. Mikva Schwartz Lecturer and Senior Director, Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, University of Chicago Law School; Member, United States House of Representatives (D-IL), 1969-1973 and 1975-1979; White House Counsel, 1994-1995; Judge, D.C. Circuit United States Court of Appeals, 1979-1994; Chief Judge,
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