Capital Punishment and the Judicial Process Carolina Academic Press Law Casebook Series Advisory Board ❦ Gary J. Simson, Chairman Cornell Law School Raj K. Bhala The George Washington University Law School John C. Coffee, Jr. Columbia University School of Law Randall Coyne University of Oklahoma Law Center John S. Dzienkowski University of Texas School of Law Paul Finkelman University of Tulsa College of Law Robert M. Jarvis Shepard Broad Law Center Nova Southeastern University Vincent R. Johnson St. Mary’s University School of Law Thomas G. Krattenmaker Director of Research Federal Communications Commission Michael A. Olivas University of Houston Law Center Michael P. Scharf New England School of Law Peter M. Shane Dean, University of Pittsburgh School of Law Emily L. Sherwin University of San Diego School of Law John F. Sutton, Jr. University of Texas School of Law David B. Wexler University of Arizona College of Law Capital Punishment and the Judicial Process Second Edition Randall Coyne Professor of Law University of Oklahoma Lyn Entzeroth Law Clerk to Federal Magistrate Judge Bana Roberts Carolina Academic Press Durham, North Carolina Copyright © 2001 by Randall Coyne and Lyn Entzeroth All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 0-89089-726-3 LCCN: 2001092360 Carolina Academic Press 700 Kent Street Durham, North Carolina 27701 Telephone (919) 489-7486 Fax (919) 493-5668 www.cap-press.com Printed in the United States of America Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents ix Table of Cases xxiii Table of Prisoners xxix List of Web Addresses xxxiii Preface to the Second Edition xxxv Preface to First Edition xxxvii Acknowledgments xxxix Chapter 1. The Great Debate Over Capital Punishment 3 A. Introduction 3 B. A Historical Summary 3 C. Selecting Those Deserving of Death 7 D. To Kill or Not to Kill . For and Against the Death Penalty 13 E. The Debate Over Deterrence and Retribution 25 F. Other Issues in the Death Penalty Debate 32 Chapter 2. Eighth Amendment Prohibition Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment 51 A. Introduction to the Eighth Amendment 51 B. Proportionality as a Limitation on Punishment 53 C. The Importance of State Constitutional Law 72 D. Evolving Standards of Decency 77 E. Modern Methods of Execution 81 F. Death Penalty Jurisdictions and Racial Characteristics of Death Row Populations 108 Chapter 3. Early Constitutional Challenges to the Death Penalty 117 A. Procedural Due Process 117 B. Cruel and Unusual Punishment 122 C. Post-Furman Death Penalty Statutes 129 D. Summary of the 1976 Supreme Court Cases Applying the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to Post-Furman Death Penalty Statutes 143 E. Model Penal Code § 210.6 169 Chapter 4. Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation 173 A. Prosecutorial Discretion 173 B. The Effects of Race 175 C. The Effects of Gender 205 D. Is Sexual Orientation Relevant in Capital Cases? 217 v vi SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 5. Constitutional Limitations on Death Eligibility 221 A. Mens Rea 221 B. Age of the Offender 238 C. Insanity 255 D. Mental Retardation 268 E. Double Jeopardy Aspects of Capital Punishment 280 Chapter 6. Selecting the Capital Jury 283 A. Overview 283 B. Death Qualification 284 C. Fair Cross-Section Requirement 299 D. Racial Bias and Jury Selection 304 E. Race-Based Peremptory Challenges 308 Chapter 7. The Role of Aggravating Circumstances 329 A. Selected Death Penalty Statutes 329 B. Vagueness as a Constitutional Defect 341 C. Unauthorized Aggravating Circumstances 355 D. Nonstatutory Aggravating Circumstances 364 E. The Narrowing Function of Aggravating Circumstances 367 F. Victim Impact Evidence 371 Chapter 8. The Role of Mitigating Circumstances 389 A. General Principles of Mitigation 389 B. Balancing Aggravating and Mitigating Circumstances 430 Chapter 9. The Sentencing Phase of Capital Cases 447 A. Introduction 447 B. Presentence Investigation Reports 450 C. Use of Criminal Convictions as Aggravating Evidence 454 D. The “Truly Awesome Responsibility” of Capital Jurors 459 E. Closing Arguments and Fundamental Fairness 471 F. Lesser Included Offense Instructions 484 G. Life Without Parole Instructions 489 H. Special Problems of Volunteers 515 Chapter 10. Use of Psychiatric Experts in Capital Cases 527 A. Introduction 527 B. Predicting Future Dangerousness 527 C. Fifth and Sixth Amendment Issues 534 D. Harmless Error 540 E. The Right to a Court-Appointed Psychiatrist 546 Chapter 11. Assistance of Counsel 555 A. Introduction 555 B. The Constitutional Standard of Effective Assistance of Counsel 560 C. Conflict of Interest 580 D. Failure to Investigate 584 E. Effective Assistance of Counsel in Capital Sentencing Proceedings 588 SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS vii F. Direct Appeal 607 G. Fatal Consequences of Attorney Error 617 Chapter 12. Stays of Execution and State Post-Conviction Relief Proceedings 623 A. Stays of Execution 623 B. State Post-Conviction Proceedings 636 Chapter 13. Introduction to Federal Habeas Corpus Review 661 A. Historical Overview 661 B. Policy Considerations 664 C. The Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 669 D. Other Limitations on Federal Habeas Review 691 E. The Role of Innocence in Federal Habeas Corpus 694 Chapter 14. State Barriers to Federal Habeas Review 707 A. Exhaustion of State Remedies 707 B. Procedural Bar —Introduction 715 C. Cause and Prejudice Requirement 716 D. What Constitutes Cause 724 E. Inadvertent Error Does Not Constitute Cause 730 F. Procedural Default as Ineffective Assistance 734 G. Adequate and Independent State Grounds 740 H. Evidentiary Hearings in Federal Habeas Corpus 757 I. Evidentiary Hearings under the AEDPA—Section 2254(e) 760 Chapter 15. Retroactivity 769 Chapter 16. Presumption of Correctness 799 A. State Court Findings of Fact: 28 U.S.C. Section 2254(d) 799 B. Federal Court Review of State Court’s Application of Law to Specific Facts 804 Chapter 17. Successive Habeas Corpus Petitions, Abuse of the Writ, and Clemency 811 A. Successive Petitions and Abusing the Writ (Pre-AEDPA) 811 B. Successive Petitions and Abuse of the Writ under the AEDPA 826 C. Clemency 838 Chapter 18. The Federal Death Penalty 845 A. Historical Summary of the Federal Death Penalty 845 B. Selected Statutes and Cases 851 Chapter 19. International Law and the Death Penalty 933 A. International Restrictions on Capital Punishment 933 B. Selected Cases 939 C. Abolitionist and Retentionist Countries 983 Appendix A 993 Appendix B 997 Index 1005 Table of Contents Table of Cases xxiii Table of Prisoners xxix List of Web Addresses xxxiii Preface to the Second Edition xxxv Preface to First Edition xxxvii Acknowledgments xxxix Chapter 1. The Great Debate Over Capital Punishment 3 A. Introduction 3 B. A Historical Summary 3 Note on Public Opinion Polls and Support for Capital Punishment 6 C. Selecting Those Deserving of Death 7 Bruck, Decisions of Death 7 Olszewski, New Theory About What Makes a Murderer 11 D. To Kill or Not to Kill . For and Against the Death Penalty 13 van den Haag,The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense 13 Note 18 Greenberg, Against the American System of Capital Punishment 19 E. The Debate Over Deterrence and Retribution 25 1. Overview of Deterrence 25 2. Brutalization 26 3. Publicizing Executions 28 Note 30 4. Overview of Retribution 31 Notes and Question 32 F. Other Issues in the Death Penalty Debate 32 1. Risk of Executing the Innocent 32 Note on DNA Exonerations 34 2. Error Rates in Capital Cases: The Liebman Study 36 3. Comparative Cost 37 Note and Questions on Compensating the Wrongfully Condemned 42 4. Religion 42 5. The Moratorium Movement 45 United States v.Burns 46 Note on the American Bar Association’s Call for a Moratorium on Executions 48 ix x TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 2. Eighth Amendment Prohibition Against Cruel and Unusual Punishment 51 A. Introduction to the Eighth Amendment 51 Granucci, “Nor Cruel and Unusual Punishments Inflicted:” ` The Original Meaning 52 Notes 53 B. Proportionality as a Limitation on Punishment 53 Coker v. Georgia 54 Note 57 Solem v. Helm 57 Harmelin v.Michigan 62 Note 67 Michigan v.Bullock Michigan v.Hasson 67 Notes 71 C. The Importance of State Constitutional Law 72 Bilionis, Legitimating Death 73 Note 77 D. Evolving Standards of Decency 77 Note: Trop v.Dulles 77 Notes and Questions 78 E. Modern Methods of Execution 81 1. Overview 81 Weisberg,This is Your Death 82 Notes 87 2. Gas Chamber 88 Gray v.Lucas 88 Gomez v.United States District Court 91 3. Electric Chair 93 Glass v.Louisiana 93 Note 98 4. Firing Squad 99 Notes and Questions 99 5. Hanging 100 Notes 100 6. Lethal Injection 102 Note and Questions: Heckler v.Chaney 102 Note on Evolution of Lethal Injection Machine 104 Lethal Injection Manual for the State of Missouri 105 7. The Role of Physicians and Other Health Professionals 106 Notes and Questions 106 F. Death Penalty Jurisdictions and Racial Characteristics of Death Row Populations 108 Notes 108 Kirchmeier, Let’s Make a Deal: Waiving the Eighth Amendment by Selecting a Cruel and Unusual Punishment 108 Chapter 3. Early Constitutional Challenges to the Death Penalty 117 A. Procedural Due Process 117 TABLE OF CONTENTS xi McGautha v.California Crampton v. Ohio 117 Notes 121 B. Cruel and Unusual Punishment 122 Furman v. Georgia 123 Notes and Questions 128 C. Post-Furman Death Penalty Statutes 129 Gregg v. Georgia 134 Note and Question 143 D. Summary of the 1976 Supreme Court Cases Applying the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to Post-Furman Death Penalty Statutes 143 Proffitt v. Florida 144 Jurek v. Texas 145 Woodson v. North Carolina 146 (Stanislaus) Roberts v.Louisiana 147 Notes and Questions 148 Callins v.Collins 150 Note and Question on Justice Blackmun’s Dissent in Callins v. Collins 159 Walton v. Arizona 159 Kirchmeier, Aggravating and Mitigating Factors: The Paradox of Today’s Arbitrary and Mandatory Capital Punishment Scheme 163 Rosen, Felony Murder and the Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence of Death 167 E.