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ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution

The ABA yesterday at its annual meeting passed an important resolution on the death penalty. While not taking a position on whether there should be a death penalty, it's very strong on how the death penalty should not be applied. Here it is in its entirety.

RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association, without taking a position supporting or opposing the death penalty, urges each jurisdiction that imposes capital punishment to implement the following policies and procedures:

1. Defendants should not be executed or sentenced to death if, at the time of the offense, they had significant limitations in both their intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills, resulting from mental retardation, dementia, or a traumatic brain injury.

2. Defendants should not be executed or sentenced to death if, at the time of the offense, they had a severe mental disorder or disability that significantly impaired their capacity (a) to appreciate the nature, consequences or wrongfulness of their conduct, (b) to exercise rational judgment in relation to conduct, or © to conform their onduct to the requirements of the law. A disorder manifested primarily by repeated criminal conduct or attributable solely to the acute effects of voluntary use of alcohol or other drugs does not, standing alone, constitute a mental disorder or disability for purposes of this provision.

3. Mental Disorder or Disability after Sentencing

(a) Grounds for Precluding Execution. A sentence of death should not be carried out if the prisoner has a mental disorder or disability that significantly impairs his or her capacity (i) to make a rational decision to forgo or terminate post-conviction proceedings available to challenge the validity of the conviction or sentence; (ii) to understand or communicate pertinent information, or otherwise assist counsel, in relation to specific claims bearing on the validity of the conviction or sentence that cannot be fairly resolved without the prisoner's participation; or (iii) to understand the nature and purpose of the punishment, or to appreciate the reason for its imposition in the prisoner's own case. Procedures to be followed in each of these categories of cases are specified in (b) through (d) below.

(b) Procedure in Cases Involving Prisoners Seeking to Forgo or Terminate Post-Conviction Proceedings. If a court finds that a prisoner under sentence of death who wishes to forgo or terminate post-conviction proceedings has a mental disorder or disability that significantly impairs his or her capacity to make a rational decision, the court should permit a next friend acting on the prisoner's behalf to initiate or pursue available remedies to set aside the conviction or death sentence.

©] Procedure in Cases Involving Prisoners Unable to Assist Counsel in Post-Conviction Proceedings. If a court finds at any time that a prisoner under sentence of death has a mental disorder or disability that significantly impairs his or her capacity to understand or communicate pertinent information, or otherwise to assist counsel, in connection with post-conviction proceedings, and that the prisoner's participation is necessary for a fair resolution of specific claims bearing on the validity of the conviction or death sentence, the court should suspend the proceedings. If the court finds that there is no significant likelihood of restoring the prisoner's capacity to participate in post-conviction proceedings in the foreseeable future, it should reduce the prisoner's sentence to the sentence imposed in Capital cases when execution is not an option.

(d) Procedure in Cases Involving Prisoners Unable to Understand the Punishment or its Purpose. If, after challenges to the validity of the conviction and death sentence have been exhausted and execution has been scheduled, a court finds that a prisoner has a mental disorder or disability that significantly impairs his or her capacity to understand the nature and purpose of the punishment, or to appreciate the reason for its imposition in the prisoner's own case, the sentence of death should be reduced to the sentence imposed in capital cases when execution is not an option.

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    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 11:14:22 AM EST
    Lawyers never fails to come up with more excuses and more loopholes for the bad guys. I suppose more rules and procedures and the longer the appeal, they will make more money. I hope the courts ignore this drivel. Otherwise, every deadrow inmate from CA to TX is going to claim that he becomes insane after he is caught.
    Just remember, my dear ignoramus, judges and prosecutors are lawyers as well.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#3)
    by Johnny on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 11:22:03 AM EST
    Narius, in left field, ignores historical evidence that an insanity cop is almost always a failed attempt. Also, simply claiming to be insane does not insanity make. I am pretty sure they will have to be declared as such, probably by a state apointed board of qualified individuals. Fear not Narius, your beloved death penalty is going nowhere. And if it does, much like so many wrong-wingers have told me, there are plenty of countries that still have it, go there.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#4)
    by jen on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 11:32:04 AM EST
    In fact this would make the death penalty acceptable to more people, since it takes away one of the objections many people have: that mentaly ill and/or retarded people are executed. Me I believe the death penalty should be abolished altogether. This is a step, but doesn't really mean too much, since the "vengeance is the law's" states will just tinker with the definitions of mentally ill and/or retarded.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#5)
    by HK on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 12:30:32 PM EST
    While anything that addresses the failings of capital punishment is welcome, I would be inclined to agree with Jen and Johnny that this isn't very far reaching. There are so many mitigating circumstances that aren't given their proper weight that to limit the ones that should be given true consideration to mental deficiencies is only the tip of the iceberg. And since States can each set their own level for what is considered mental impairment, they can still set the standard so low that no one avoids the DP on those grounds. Indeed, it's good news, but it's also a small step on a long road.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#6)
    by roxtar on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 01:33:18 PM EST
    You can't "claim" insanity any more than you can "claim" syphillis. It's a mental disease, not a political affiliation.......

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#8)
    by HK on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 02:17:04 PM EST
    Narius, I hate to break this to you, but we're all going to die anyway. This is not about death, it is about a broken justice system that serves no one; crime increases and inmates are not given fair trials. Either pray you are never in the wrong place at the wrong time, or actually examine the justice system you support so ardently and express your outrage.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#9)
    by Al on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 04:32:21 PM EST
    RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association, without taking a position supporting or opposing the death penalty ...
    Why not?

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#10)
    by Johnny on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 05:04:50 PM EST
    Roxtar, it is not that hard to PRETEND there are voices speaking to you in your head.
    Pretty easy actually. Pres. Bush says his god talks to him. Convincing the right people that it is true is another matter entirely. Don't worry Narius, you will get your thrills from death in any event - this nation will drop the DP about the same time a liberal, black, transvestite is elected president.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#11)
    by Dadler on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 05:42:49 PM EST
    Narius, Go pretend to be severely mentally ill, pretend you're hearing voices, act as demented as you can, then try try to convince medical professionals you are genuinely ill. I'd love to see it and I'd love to meet the "professionals" who buy your act. Also, a genuinely mentally ill person is much less likely to have their illness recognized or taken into account as a mitigating factor in court than they are in actual everyday life. Your notion that people are getting off, or could, by just acting crazy is, well, a tad crazy itself.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 05:43:14 PM EST
    Narius, Go pretend to be severely mentally ill, pretend you're hearing voices, act as demented as you can, then try try to convince medical professionals you are genuinely ill. I'd love to see it and I'd love to meet the "professionals" who buy your act. Also, a genuinely mentally ill person is much less likely to have their illness recognized or taken into account as a mitigating factor in court than they are in actual everyday life. Your notion that people are getting off, or could, by just acting crazy is, well, a tad crazy itself.

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#13)
    by Johnny on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 10:38:47 PM EST
    Those of us who are forensic psychiatrists know that psychiatrists are not much better than lay people at detecting lying and that malingering is hard to detect, especially when the malingerer has been coached.
    Which, of course, explains the tide of "insane", "Retarded", and otherwise impaired criminals "getting off" everyday...

    Re: ABA Passes Death Penalty Resolution (none / 0) (#14)
    by jondee on Thu Aug 10, 2006 at 10:47:22 PM EST
    Best ta kill 'em all 'n let the Good Lord sort 'em out. Somebody gotta pay after all.