You say the death penalty in New Jersey has failed because so many convictions are being overturned. But don’t the reversals mean the system is working?
A system that overturns more than seven out of every 10 sentences due to serious error can hardly been described as “working.” A high reversal rate means higher costs for the state and painful delays for victims’ families. It is also a red flag that something is terribly wrong with the system. A 2000 Columbia Law School study titled “A Broken System: Error Rates in Capital Cases,” found that federal proceedings reversed 40% of capital cases that weren’t overturned during state court review. These late stage reversals suggest that some errors go undetected.
Related Questions
- If someone supported reinstatement of the death penalty in New Jersey in 1982, how can that person vote now to replace it? What has changed to support this reversal in position?
- You say the death penalty in New Jersey has failed because so many convictions are being overturned. But don’t the reversals mean the system is working?
- Don’t prosecutors need the death penalty to secure plea bargains?
