What happens when a jury gets it wrong in a death penalty case?
In California and across the United States, the death penalty is controversial. While many people believe that it is a necessary deterrent to prevent criminals from committing violent crimes or to obtain justice for murder victims, still others believe that it is never right for the government to take a life. No matter which side of the debate you fall on, we can all agree that whenever the death penalty is given as a sentence, it should only be done when it is absolutely certain that the defendant is guilty of the crime.
While this is the ideal, in practice, it does not always happen. As a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney can tell you, innocent people are sometimes convicted of crimes that they did not commit. This includes in capital, or death penalty, cases. In fact, since 1973, 160 people have been exonerated and freed from death row in the United States. This includes three inmates from California, and a shocking 27 inmates from Florida, 20 from Illinois and 13 from Texas.
The case of Oscar Lee Morris is an example of a California case where exoneration prevented an innocent man from being executed. Mr. Morris was convicted of robbery and murder in 1983, and sentenced to death. His conviction was based on the testimony of Joe West, who testified that Mr. Morris wanted to kill someone — the only motive ever given by the prosecution for Mr. Morris’ alleged crimes. The prosecutor failed to disclose to the jury that he had asked for favorable treatment for Mr. West in his separate criminal cases, and in fact, lied to the jury, stating that there was no evidence that he had received any benefits for his testimony. Shortly before his death, Mr. West confessed that the testimony that he gave against Mr. Morris was a lie, and had been entirely fabricated. The California Supreme Court did not overturn his conviction, but the Los Angeles County Superior Court eventually granted him a new trial. Prosecutors decided to not retry the case, and Mr Morris was freed in 2000, after 17 years on death row for a crime that he did not commit.
There are many situations that can lead to exoneration, from prosecutorial misconduct, to ineffective assistance of counsel, to cases where the defendant is actually innocent of the charged crime. Whatever the case may be, if a person did not receive a fair trial or is not guilty of the crime, the question then becomes if it is just to put him or her to death. Should we make sure that all defendants receive their due process rights and that they are truly guilty of the crime before the state takes his or her life?
At the Chambers Law Firm, our experienced Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys represent people who have been charged with all California crimes, including capital cases. Contact us today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation and learn more about how we can help you.
