Interesting Dealth Penalty Stats
Federal Juries Reject Death Penalty in Most Cases. A new study shows juries reject the death penalty in most federal cases. Legal experts say the trend might have... [TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime]
In my humble opinion this statistic is most likely the result of one of the most terrible aspects of Death Penalty trials in America -- funding, or lack of it. By far those represented by appointed counsel and facing the Federal Death Penalty are better off that those in most states, particularly those like Louisiana, which is deep in the death belt. The reason is that federal defenders, who are fairly well paid, or private appointed counsel who receive $125 per hour in captial defense matters are handling the litigation. Additionally, the federal system is much better when it comes to funding mitigation investigators, experts, etc. So while many will opine about the reason for this stat -- federal juries, differing jurisidictional attitudes, etc. -- at bottom a well funded defense by attorney who earn a living wage is no doubt the root cause.
8:03:25 PM 
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