Justice Denied: Clemency Appeals in Death Penalty Cases - Softcover

Burnett, Cathleen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1555535208 ISBN 13: 9781555535209

Publisher: Northeastern University Press, 2002

Synopsis

Sobered by mounting evidence of wrongful convictions in capital cases, both death penalty advocates and abolitionists are calling for a moratorium on executions in the United States. This timely book delves into the difficult questions surrounding the heated public and legal debate about a criminal justice system that risks the state-sanctioned killing of an innocent person. Focusing on executive clemency petitions, the final hope for death row inmates, Cathleen Burnett exposes troubling flaws in the legal process of administering the death penalty. Her in-depth examination of all of the fifty petitions presented to the governors of Missouri since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1977, shows in dramatic detail how the machinery of justice often fails the condemned and their victims alike. Skillfully interweaving her investigation with compelling case studies, Burnett considers particular stages in death penalty convictions to illuminate the mistakes and miscarriages of justice commonly addressed in clemency petitions - police misconduct and false testimony; overzealous prosecution; ineffective defense counsel; judicial prejudice; and state and federal appellate reviews th

About this title

About the Author:

Cathleen Burnett is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She is the editor of Older Offenders: Current Trends and the author of several articles on the death penalty.

Review:

"Much of what Burnett has to offer rests on whether clemency petitions are to be believed." -- Criminal Justice Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Northeastern University Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1555535208
• ISBN 13: 9781555535209
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 262