Justice means that competent lawyers must be adequately trained to handle complex capital cases. While Indiana provides poor defendants with counsel, the only training requirement is a 12-hour seminar within two years of their appointment. Little is done to monitor the performance of lawyers in these important cases.

Justice means that similar offenders and similar crimes receive similar punishments. While most agree that the death penalty should be reserved for the “worst of the worst,” Indiana does not have the procedures to make sure this happens. Prosecutors seek death sentences in only a few cases each year, and only a few of those result in death sentences. Even fewer of these result in an execution. Imposition of the death penalty has been referred to as Indiana’s “other lottery,” and there is often no meaningful difference between those sentenced to life in prison and those sentenced to death.

Justice means a system without bias, whether based on race, income or geography. Yet the Indiana Criminal Law Study Commission found in 2002 that a criminal defendant is more likely to receive the death penalty if the victim is white than if the victim is African-American. The assessment team confirmed that of the 17 men executed in Indiana since 1973, only two had black victims.