"Should Delaware execute its death row 'volunteers'?" is the title of Jules Epstein's Wilmington News Journal OpEd. He's an associate professor at Widener University School of Law.
The April execution of Shannon Johnson, a man who “volunteered” to give up all appellate rights and hasten his own death, was preceded by an examination of only two issues: was he “competent” [mentally capable] to give up those rights and did he do so as a matter of “free will?” Those are the tests articulated by courts nationally, and Mr. Johnson was deemed to meet them.
I write this article not to dispute that determination, although there are substantial questions about how it was arrived at, in particular whether Mr. Johnson’s lawyer should have stepped aside, as she was in the Catch-22 position of advising a client to waive his rights including the right to see if she had previously been ineffective.
Instead, I write to address the question that the hearing never examined, one that is critical if Delaware is to strive toward having a constitutionally sound death penalty process.
Coverage of last month's Delaware execution begins at the link. Related posts are in the volunteer index.
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