More handpicked essays just for you.
Controversy around the death penalty
Causes and effects of capital punishment in usa
Controversy around the death penalty
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Controversy around the death penalty
The death penalty was brought to America in the 17th century. As of January 1, 2011, more than three thousand people were sentenced under the death penalty in the United States (Death Penalty Information Center). There are currently thirty-four states with the death penalty and out those states 1,272 inmates have been executed to date (Death Penalty Information Center). A number of inmates have perhaps been on death row for more than a decade. With the increase public support for the death penalty and the growing number of executions indicate there is an issue for competency (Bonnie, 1990). Therefore, “many states have begun to encounter some condemned inmates asserting that their prolonged confinement under sentence of death has left them mentally incompetent (Small & Otto, 1991)”. These inmates on death row live with the knowledge of their approaching death and some of these inmates are often mentally incompetent. Yet, many jurisdictions using the death penalty have allowed provisions exempting the mentally incompetent from execution. American law recognizes additional reason for exclusion, including issues focusing on retribution, the ability to provide information for the appeals process, and the ability to psychological prepare for death (Brodsky et al., 1999). Although these exclusions are in place, there is still a need to evaluate an inmate’s competency. According to the ABA, the standard for incompetence is that an inmate may be found incompetent if he or she is has mental illness or retardation, cannot understand the nature of the pending proceedings, what he or she was tried for, the reason for the punishment, or the nature of the punishment (Ebert, 2001). Thus, an inmate intellectual functioning must be assessed ... ... middle of paper ... ...hibiting the Execution of the Mentally Retarded, 53 CASE W. RES. L. REV. 171, 171-72. Otto, R. K., & Small, M. A. (1991). Evaluations of Competency to be Executed. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 18, 146-158. Tobolowsky, P. (2007). To Panetti and Beyond Defining and Identifying Capital Offenders Who Are Too "Insane" to be Executed. American Journal of Criminal Law. Weinstock, R., Leong, G. B., & Silva, J. (2010). Competence to be executed: An ethical analysis post Panetti. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 28(5), 690-706. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.gsu.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2010-23176-008&site=ehost-live ZAPF, P. A. (2009). Elucidating the contours of competency for execution: The implications of Ford and Panetti for assessment. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 37(2/3), 269-307. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.