Criminal Justice System and the Death Penalty Fairness

No, our criminal justice system has not always applied the Death Penalty fairly. One cannot expect the law machinery (police and courts) to hit the right spot every time. There have been several cases where convicts have been freed from death row due to wrong sentences caused by prosecution mistakes. In almost all such instances, the mistakes came to light due to the efforts of third-party groups or persons, and not due to any court procedure. An outstanding example is the release of 18 death row inmates from the Illinois penitentiary solely due to the efforts of a group of Northwestern University Law School students. Secondly, all jurors selected in Death Penalty cases have to be ‘death eligible,’ namely, he or she should be ready to pronounce a guilty verdict while well aware that such a sentence can result. This ensures that the defendants already have ‘the decks stacked against them’ because nobody who is anti-Death Penalty is going to be present on the jury.

Thirdly, many nations have been guilty of not totally and properly adhering to the terms of The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations that need authorities to provide foreign nationals in their custody the right to meet and seek legal help and advice from their consular officers. There also have been several cases where Death Penalty executions have taken place without the convicts having been informed {the U.S is also guilty on this count} about their right to seek consular advice. Lastly, the Death Penalty has been used disproportionately against racial minorities. For example, since the U.S reinstated the Death Penalty in 1976, 35 percent of all executed persons have been African Americans, and the same racial group accounts for 42 percent of all death row convicts.