News and Developments 2006: Sentencing

DPIC's 12th annual Year End Report was released on December 14 and reveals a broad decline in the use of the death penalty in the U.S. based on a number of factors:  the public now favors life without parole over the death penalty; the number of executions has dropped to the fewest in a decade, in part because of challenges to the lethal injection process; and the annual number of death sentences is now at a 30-year low.  The report notes that various states have put a hold on all executions, while others are reviewing problems in the capital punishment system.  The report cites a number of new developments, including the challenges posed by the severe mental illness of many on death row, and quotes a series of law enforcement personnel, editorials, and public officials voicing serious concerns about the death penalty.

Oscar Doster was found guilty earlier this year of capital murder in the course of a robbery in Alabama.  Doster claimed that his co-defendant actually committed the murder.  The jury unanimously recommended that Doster be sentenced to life without parole.  In Alabama, unlike most other death penalty states, the judge is allowed to override a jury's recommendation for life.  Typically in other states, even one juror's vote for a life sentence will prevent the court from imposing a death sentence.  Judge Ashley McKathan rejected the recommendation of all 12 jurors th

The May 8th edition of U.S. News & World Report highlights the declining number of death sentences handed down each year in the U.S., the smaller number of executions, and the growing number of states that are re-evaluating capital punishment.  Public support for the death penalty has also decreased because of doubts about the accuracy and fairnes of capital punishment.

The article notes that New Jersey recently established a moratorium on executions and New York opted not to restore its death penalty.  A growing number of jurisdictions have temporarily halted executions due to ongoing concerns about the constitutionality of lethal injection.  "What's happening is reflective of a nation seemingly at odds with itself. A recent Gallup Poll shows that support for executions, though down from its peak, is still 64 percent. But it is also clear that many, including prosecutors and judges, are growing increasingly uneasy about imposing death -- agonizing not only over how and whom to kill but over whether those facing execution have a fair shot at proving their innocence. Courts with growing frequency are choosing life in prison as an alternative," the article states.