Staying Put by Using Pretrial Publicity and Morgan v. Illinois to Remove Pro-Death Jurors

In high-profile capital cases, it is standard procedure for the defense to file a Motion to Change Venue as a result of extensive negative pretrial publicity. The assumption underlying a venue-change request is that a jury pool repeatedly exposed to negative facts about the case, or the defendant, will be unable to render a fair and impartial verdict and follow the presumption of innocence, thus being more conviction-prone and more likely to recommend the death penalty.

Willie Herring’s case cried out for mitigation. The cry went unanswered. The 5-4 decision from the Ohio Supreme Court in Herring’s case does not break new ground. It does, however, provide important reminders about the duty of capital defense attorneys to ensure that a comprehensive mitigation investigation is conducted in every case.

The Supreme Court decided Gregg more than 40 years ago, and the promise of a reliable death penalty has still not been met.

In United States v. Fell, a district judge in Vermont concluded that the federal death penalty is arbitrary and biased, but only the Supreme Court can rule it unconstitutional.

CAPITAL CASES: The Beginning of the End For Capital Punishment Diann Rust-Tierney April 2011 55 The shift of the debate around capital punishment is palpable. I have the sensation of watching a wrecking ball hitting a building at precisely the right angle and spot. At first, one wonders what

Mitigation Investigation

Lethal Incompetence Ty Alper

The Capital Ethnography Project Jesse Cheng

Beyond Wiggins : Tipping Points And Evolving Standards

Capital Cases-- Dimensions of Mitigation Russell Stetler, Kathleen Wayland

Lethal injection and the Georgia Supreme Court's new millennium Mike Mears

Capital Cases John H. Blume, Pamela Blume Leonard May 2002 58 Authors' Note: This article is meant to supplement two previous articles, The Elements of a Competent and Reliable Mental Health Examination, 1 which describes the process for acquiring an accurate assessment of a client's mental condi

Capital Cases Wanda D. Foglia, Nathan M. Schenker July 2001 26 Arbitrary and Capricious After All These Years: Constitutional Problems With Capital Jurors' Decision Making These days the public is starting to have doubts about the death penalty. It is no longer just defense attorneys who suspect

Capital Cases Richard S. Jaffe January/February 2001 35   Ten Principles for Individualized Voir Dire on the Death Penalty Mrs. Hunter was called to serve for jury duty, but asked to be excused because she didn't believe in capital punishment and didn't want her personal thoughts to prevent the

Capital Cases John H. Blume, Pamela Blume Leonard November 2000 63 Principles of Developing and Presenting Mental Health Evidence in Criminal Cases Mentally disordered clients can be challenging, their crimes bizarre, their lives tragic and their illnesses difficult to convey. To address mental h