Since 1976, when capital punishment was reinstated, eighty-seven men and women have been taken off death row and freed because they were proven innocent. Since the turn of the century, 343 people have been wrongly convicted. Of these, 137 were sentenced to death, twenty-five were actually executed, sixty-one served more than ten years in jail, and seven died while in prison (Rein et al. 77). These figures raise the question: how many innocent people are on death row right now? Recent studies and new evidence suggest that some death row inmates awaiting execution may have been wrongly convicted. A twenty-three year study conducted by Columbia University Law Professor James S. Liebman states that "American capital sentences are so persistently and systematically fraught with error" (Liebman et al., par. 2). In "A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases, 1973-1995," Liebman found that the overall rate of prejudicial error in the capital system was 68%. Currently there are approximately 3,500 inmates on death row in thirty-eight states that have adopted the death penalty. Liebman's figure clearly indicates a possibility of some wrongful convictions in the cases of those still awaitin

ainwashed by police into giving testimonies. Gary Nelson spent eleven years on death row in Georgia. A lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case represented him at his two-day trial. In fact, his closing argument consisted of only 225 words. Nelson was able to obtain respectable representation in 1991 and was cleared of all charges and released.

Another argument for capital punishment is from the side of the murder victims' families. Families are absolutely right in wanting to obtain justice in the memory of their lost loved ones. A capital conviction does not relieve them of any pain or grief but will provide closure. Even a person against capital punishment cannot say with clarity how he or she would react if placed in the shoes of someone who has lost a loved one to a brutal murder. Those in opposition to the death penalty would also make an exception in cases of someone like Theodore Bundy, a serial killer from Florida who confessed to the murders of thirty-seven women.

What if one innocent person died as a result of a wrongful conviction? Aren't supporters of the death penalty in fact defeating their own purpose? They would be supporting the same crime that they are trying to deter.

The case of Dennis Williams is a clear example of the unethical practices of law enforcement and prosecutors. Instead of serving and protecting a fellow citizen, they willfully chose to let an innocent man sit on death row for eighteen years. Law enforcement should represent justice in this country. In Mr. Williams' case, the police chose to support their racial biases above upholding justice.

Another area in which competent defense attorneys are needed is during the post-conviction stage. Many death row inmates are finding it more and more difficult to get lawyers to help in the appeals process. States provide poor defendants with attorneys for the initial appeals, but prisoners must obtain their own counsel after that. These inmates can only hope to find attorneys who are willing to handle appeals on a pro bono, or free, basis.

The final critical factor leading to error in capital cases is the incompetence of capital defense attorneys. In some cases, defense attorneys never looked for or missed evidence proving their clients' innocence. Other lawyers failed to conduct adequate pretrial investigations or even interview witnesses.

210.6 Sentence of Death for Murder; Further Proceedings to Determine Sentence

Some common words found in the essay are:
Supreme Court, Theodore Bundy, York Kansas, Dennis Williams, Rates Capital, Di Lisio, Joe Spaziano, Sentence Excluded, Texas Maryland, Montana Oklahoma, death row, capital punishment, death penalty, law enforcement, defense attorneys, death sentence, law enforcement prosecutors, enforcement prosecutors, capital system, awaiting execution, innocent people, prisoners death row, et al par, doubt justify death, liebman et al,
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Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page double spaced)