The Death Penalty and Wrongful Convictions: A Case for Abolition
The death penalty in the United States continues to be a contentious issue. Currently, 23 states still authorise its use for the most heinous of crimes, namely first-degree murder, with its application for other offenses, such as terrorism, remaining an ongoing topic of discussion. However, the system administering the death penalty is fraught with error and injustice, resulting in wrongful convictions that have condemned innocent people to death. A wrongful conviction occurs when an individual is convicted and sentenced for a crime they did not commit or which never occurred. Broader definitions encompass cases where a capital crime was committed by accident, in self-defence, or by an offender who is mentally ill as well as cases where defendants are guilty of criminal homicide but not of first-degree murder. In such situations, individuals do not merit the death penalty and should be considered wrongfully convicted if sentenced to death row.
Since 1973, over 200 wrongfully convicted individuals have been exonerated from death row, highlighting the grave flaws in the justice system. A 2014 study estimates that 4% of Americans sentenced to death are actually innocent, but this statistic only scratches the surface of the problem. The threat of execution can coerce innocent people into pleading guilty, and pressure witnesses into giving false testimony. Even when justice prevails and an exoneration occurs, the damage is lasting — wrongfully imprisoned individuals and their families are left to cope with the trauma of facing death for a crime they didn’t commit. These wrongful convictions are not isolated incidents; they are an inevitable risk in any system that uses the death penalty, a system prone to human error, systemic bias, and the inherent fallibility of legal processes.
Several factors contribute to wrongful convictions in death penalty cases. Police and prosecutorial misconduct, such as coerced confessions, the suppression of exculpatory evidence, and falsified testimony, are common. Inadequate defence is another critical factor, as individuals facing the death penalty often lack the financial resources to hire competent legal counsel. Public defenders are frequently overworked, underfunded, and inexperienced, leading to poorly handled cases. Eyewitness testimony, shown to be highly unreliable through psychological research done by experts like Elizabeth Loftus, also plays a significant role in wrongful convictions, as perpetrators are misidentified. Furthermore, racial bias permeates the capital punishment system, disproportionately impacting Black and Latinx individuals. Studies reveal that more than half of death row exonerees are Black, and the race of both the defendant and the victim can heavily influence whether the death penalty is pursued. Faulty forensic evidence, sometimes outdated or inaccurately presented, has also led to wrongful convictions in numerous cases.
There are countless case studies that illustrate the reality of wrongful conviction. Jerry Banks was rescued from death row following the fortunate discovery of a previously unknown witness. James Foster was released when the true murderer confessed. Florida’s Freddie Pitts and Wilbert Lee were acquitted after a journalist uncovered and proved their innocence. Anthony Ray Hinton, one of the longest serving death row inmates to be exonerated, was wrongfully convicted due to inaccurate ballistics evidence and systemic inequalities that rendered him unable to afford an expert witness to challenge the prosecution’s case.
However, nearly every case in which death row inmates manage to prove their innocence is a tale of extraordinary luck. Once the amount of luck that goes into post-execution exonerations is realised, it becomes clear how often fatal mistakes go undetected. Ernest Dobbert was executed in Florida in 1984 for killing his 9-year-old daughter, despite substantial doubt about his premeditation. As a result, he should not have been convicted of first-degree murder and, consequently, should not have faced the death penalty. In 2011, Troy Davis was executed in Georgia for the murder of a police officer, despite widespread doubts regarding his guilt coupled with international protests. In the years following his trial, seven out of the nine witnesses recanted their testimony, citing police coercion. In Texas, Cameron Willingham was executed in 2004 for arson that killed his three children. However, after his death, the case was re-examined, and the fire was determined to be accidental, rather than arson. These executions serve as sobering reminders that errors in judgment, flawed science, and inadequate legal defence can result in the ultimate miscarriage of justice and irreversible harm.
Efforts to reform the death penalty have focused on procedural changes, such as requiring DNA evidence or improving the quality of legal representation in capital cases. In 2001, the American Bar Association created the Death Penalty Due Process Review to offer technical assistance for death penalty issues at the state and federal levels, collaborate with individuals and organisations supporting death penalty reform, and encourage the adoption of the ABA’s Protocols on the Fair Administration of the Death Penalty. Alongside other human rights organisations, it has raised concerns regarding wrongful convictions, inadequate legal defence, and racial bias.
However, such reforms are insufficient in addressing the deep-rooted flaws within the legal system. The psychological trauma and irreparable harm caused by wrongful convictions cannot be overstated. Those exonerated before execution often suffer lasting mental health effects from the experience of living on death row and facing imminent death. For the families of those wrongfully executed, the tragedy is unimaginable. Executing an innocent person is the gravest possible failure of justice, and there is no possible compensation for this irreversible error. Herman Lindsey, a man sentenced to death by a divided jury for a crime he didn’t commit, has spoken against capital punishment in the years following his exoneration. “When I was in the courtroom and I heard ‘We, the people of Florida, sentence you to die,’ I heard a lot of power in that phrase. We the people are the power. As Floridians we must stop allowing division to keep us from making things right in Florida.” Lindsey’s words resonate not only with Floridians but with all Americans, reminding us that as a nation, we hold the collective power to ensure justice and prevent irreversible mistakes like wrongful executions. This can only be achieved by abolishing the death penalty. In a system where the stakes are life and death, even a single wrongful conviction is too many. The risk of injustice is too great to justify capital punishment. Abolishing the death penalty ensures that the innocent are not subjected to an irrevocable fate, and with approximately 2,250 prisoners currently on death row, action needs to be taken before another grievous error is made.
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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the wider St. Andrews Foreign Affairs Review team.
