Death Penalty Course @ Moritz College of Law

Improvement versus abolition

As stressed at the end of Wednesday's class, I want to conclude the Berman-driven unit of this course by having a collective discussion about how the modern administration of the death penalty might be improved.  As I suggested in class, I am often troubled that many who lament administrative problems with the modern death penalty — ranging from wrongful convictions, to racial disparities and other inequities, to the poor quality of defense representation — typically urge abolition of the death penalty as the solution.  When I hear these arguments, I wonder why suggestions for administrative improvements, rather than abolition, isn't a more appropriate response to these administrative problems.

Over at my home blog, a few months ago I had this post asking "How can the death penalty be sensibly improved?", which produced numerous interesting comments.  I am eager for this question to flower again in this space, as well as in our class discussions.   

As I mentioned at the end of class, the issue of improvement versus abolition is of particular interest in Ohio.  As noted in posts linked below, Ohio's new Governor and Attorney General seem concerned about the operation of the Buckeye death penalty, but neither seems to be an advocate for abolition.

Ohio-related DP posts from my home blog:

• Could Ohio and Wisconsin chart a path to a better death penalty?
• A new look at the death penalty in Ohio
• The lethal mess in Ohio
• Ohio's Gov-elect produces capital wondering
• Ohio's new governor signs three reprieves
• Watch Ohio for death debates

Do aesthetics and anniversaries matter in DP debates?

Over at my home blog, I ask here whether execution headaches impact where capital debates are headed.  I would be interested in student input on this question.

I also note here that today marks a notable death penalty anniversary: the first "modern" US execution took place exactly 30 years ago today.  This factoid, in turn, prompts a similat query from me: does the marking of a notable anniversary have any real impact on capital punishments debates or developments?