Finality, Habeas, Innocence, and the Death Penalty: Can Justice Be Done?

Roko, Ellyde, Washington Law Review

Abstract: In 1995, Judge Betty Binns Fletcher posed a question: In the context of the death penalty, can justice be done? She did not answer the question at the time. However, an examination of the procedural hurdles now facing condemned inmates seeking review of claims of constitutional violations suggests the answer is no. Too often courts, including the Supreme Court, have favored finality over fairness, elevating strict adherence to procedural rules over the responsibility to make sure justice is done. Nowhere is the problem clearer than in the arena of actual innocence, where the failure to consider a condemned inmate's claim on the merits could lead to the execution of an innocent …

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Publication information: Article title: Finality, Habeas, Innocence, and the Death Penalty: Can Justice Be Done?. Contributors: Roko, Ellyde - Author. Journal title: Washington Law Review. Volume: 85. Issue: 1 Publication date: February 2010. Page number: 107+. © 2007 Washington Law Review Association. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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