Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review Volume 23 Number 1 Symposium—The Death Penalty Article 5 Approaches the 1990s: Where Are We Now 11-1-1989 The Execution of Injustice: A Cost and Lack-of-Benefit Analysis of the Death Penalty Ronald J. Tabak J. Mark Lane Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Ronald J. Tabak & J. M. Lane, The Execution of Injustice: A Cost and Lack-of-Benefit Analysis of the Death Penalty, 23 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 59 (1989). Available at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/llr/vol23/iss1/5 This Symposium is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews at Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. THE EXECUTION OF INJUSTICE: A COST AND LACK-OF-BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF THE DEATH PENALTY* Ronald . Tabak** and J. Mark Lane*** TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ......................................... 61 II. THE DEATH PENALTY IS STILL ARBITRARY AND CAPRICIOUS ............................................ 62 A. The CapitalPunishment System Does Not Rationally Select Those Who Shall Die ......................... 62 B. Overzealous ProsecutorsImproperly Seek and Obtain Death Sentences ..................................... 64 C Ineffective Defense Renders Capital Trials Unfair ..... 69 D. The Juq Selection Process Fails to Ensure Unbiased Juries .............................................. 75 E. Jurors in Capital Cases Are Often Misled, Misinstructed, or Incompletely Informed ............. 77 F. The Lack of Real ProportionalityReview Means that * This Article was prepared for New York Lawyers Against the Death Penalty, an organization of over 1,000 members of the New York Bar, as a memorandum in opposition to legislation which would restore the death penalty in New York State.