I think most people would agree that capital punishment, as currently implemented in the United States, has become ineffective. Millions are spent in order to carry out somewhere in the area of 20 executions a year. More DR inmates are being re-sentenced to lesser terms or dying of natural causes than are actually being executed. While most of these ideas may be improbable, these are my thoughts on how to restore capital punishment's effectiveness.
Abolish or revise the 8th amendment
While most would say the biggest killer of DP cases is either bogus retardation claims or LI litigation, I am going after the root cause: the 8th amendment. Either do away with it altogether, or revise it to the effect of "the punishment must be proportionate to the crime" or "the punishment must not exceed the crime". That will cut through a lot of red tape that is currently preventing countless executions from being carried out.
Abolish the sentencing phase
Make death the mandatory punishment for murder. That way, we don't have to worry about rogue jurors or judges overruling the will of the majority. Also, that cuts DP appeals in half. The appeals will solely focus on the guilt/innocence phase of the trial, since that will be the only phase of the trial. This will also save time and taxpayer money during trials, and jury selection will be much simpler in capital cases.
Limit appeals
I believe appeals are an important part to our judicial process, and all criminal defendants, including DR inmates, should be entitled to both state and federal review. That being said, appeals should argue ONLY whether or not the defendant received a fair trial. Issues of guilt/innocence should be resolved in the trial, NOT appeals.
Abolish executive clemency
Should one person (or a board of people in some states) be able to undo the work of police, investigators, prosecutors, witnesses, jurors, judges, etc? Executive clemency/pardons should be abolished in capital cases.
Abolish insanity/mentally ill defenses
When it comes to committing murder, the perpetrator's mental state should be irrelevant. Either they did it, or they didn't.
Make executions more available to the public
While I don't really believe the DP is a deterrent (At least not proactively. Re-actively, sure, no executed murderer ever kills again), I believe executions should be made more available to the public just like trials are. More witnesses should be allowed to be present, and also should be available via closed circuit TV so anyone from that state who wants can view. Maybe even bring the kids on the Scared Straight program in to witness executions, to show them that we as a society do not tolerate murder.
Legalise victimless crimes
Too much money is spent on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people for things that I don't believe should be crimes in the first place, such as drugs and prostitution. My own political beliefs aside, and to keep this point to the topic, those funds can be reallocated to help solve cold case murders, as well as to help build stronger cases against murder suspects and lessen the number of wrongful convictions.
What do other people think? Are there any other ideas anyone has?
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