1

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

Rogers/5SenatorMargiyev

S.R.____

JOINTRESOLUTION
ToamendtheConstitutiontoabolishthecapitalpunishment.

BeitenactedbytheSenateandHouseofRepresentativesoftheUnitedStatesofAmericainCongressassembled,

SECTION1.SHORTTITLE

ThisactmaybecitedastheCapitalPunishmentActof2015.

SECTION2.FINDINGS

Congressherebyfindsanddeclaresthat,
1)
Caseswithoutthedeathpenaltycost$740,000,whilecaseswherethedeathpenaltyissoughtcost$1.26million.
2)
Innocentpeoplehavebeenconvictedandexecuted.
3)
In1990areportfromtheGeneralAccountingOfficeconcludedthatin82percentofthestudies[reviewed],raceof
thevictimwasfoundtoinfluencethelikelihoodofbeingchargedwithcapitalmurderorreceivingthedeathpenalty,
i.e.thosewhomurderedwhitesweremorelikelytobesentencedtodeaththanthosewhomurderedblacks.
4)
Scientificstudieshaveconsistentlyfailedtodemonstratethatexecutionsdeterpeoplefromcommittingcrime
anymorethanlongprisonsentencesandtheTimesfoundthatduringthelast20years,thehomiciderateinstateswith
thedeathpenaltyhasbeen48percentto101percenthigherthaninstateswithoutthedeathpenalty.
5)
Althoughisolatedpassagesofreligiousscripturehavebeenquotedinsupportofthedeathpenalty,almostall
religiousgroupsintheUnitedStatesregardexecutionsasimmoral.
6)
ThevastmajorityofcountriesinWesternEurope,NorthAmericaandSouthAmericamorethan140nations
worldwidehaveabandonedcapitalpunishmentinlaworinpractice.
7)
Almostalldefendantsincapitalcasescannotaffordtheirownattorneysinmanycases,theappointedattorneysare
overworked,underpaid,orlackingthetrialexperiencerequiredfordeathpenaltycases.
8)
Ineverystatethatretainsthedeathpenalty,jurorshavetheoptionofsentencingconvictedcapitalmurdererstolife
inprisonwithoutthepossibilityofparole.
9)Only31statescurrentlyallowforthedeathpenalty,andsevenstateshaverepealedthepunishmentsince2004.
Today,thereareabout600fewerprisonersondeathrowthantherewereattheendof2000.
10)Since1973,
thetotalnumberofexonerationsis156,themostrecentbeinginOctoberof2015.
11)AccordingtostateandfederalrecordsobtainedbyTheLosAngelesTimes,maintainingtheCaliforniadeath
penaltysystemcoststaxpayersmorethan$114millionayearbeyondthecostofsimplykeepingtheconvictslockedup
forlife,thisfiguredoesnotincludethemillionsmorespentoncourtcoststoprosecutecapitalcases.
12)Averagenumberofyearsbetweenbeingsentencedtodeathandexoneration:11.3years
13)Thetotalexecutionsinthesouthwhereracialdiscriminationisprominentis1,142,comparedtothe261total
executionsinthewest,midwest,andnortheast.
14)AstudyinCaliforniafoundthatthosewhokilledwhiteswereover3timesmorelikelytobesentencedtodeaththan
thosewhokilledblacksandover4timesmorelikelythanthosewhokilledLatinos.

SECTION3.STATUTORYLANGUAGE
TheConstitutionofTheUnitedStatesofAmericashallbeamendedasfollows:
Section1.
CapitalpunishmentintheTheUnitedStatesisherebyabolished.Nopersonwhohascommittedacapitaloffensewill
receivethedeathpenalty.Thosealreadyondeathrowwillberesentencedtoalifesentencewithoutparole.
Section2.
ThisarticleshalltakeeffectonthefirstdayofJanuaryfollowingthepassageofthisbill.
Section3.
ThisarticleshallbeinoperativeunlessitshallhavebeenratifiedasanamendmenttotheConstitutionbythelegislatures
ofthreefourthsoftheseveralstateswithinsevenyearsfromthedateofitssubmissiontothestatesbytheCongress.

CapitalPunishmentinAmericahasbeenaroundforover400years,howeverthedeathpenalty,orexecution,
datesbacktotimesbeforeChrist.Thedeathpenaltydoesnothaveacleanreputationasitwasabusedbykingsand
monarchsandmanysufferedfromminorcrimes,falseinformation,andfalseconviction.Countlessnumbersofpeople
havebeenexecutedthroughoutthedeathpenaltytimeline,yetwestillallowthisimmoralandinhumanepunishmentto
remainfederallylegalandjustthroughouttheUnitedStates.
nd

Amajorissueconcerningthecapitalpunishmentisfailuretoexecutewithouterror.OnSeptember2
,1983,
JimmyLeeGraywasbeingexecutedbyasphyxiation.Aftereightminutesofgaspingforair,officialswereforcedto
cleartheroombecauseitrepulsedwitnesses.Lateritwasrevealedthattheexecutioner,BarryBruce,wasdrunk.
Countlesscasesliketheseexistthroughoutalltypesofexecution:asphyxiation,electrocution,andlethalinjection.All
ofthesecaseshaveonethingincommon,humanerror.Failuretoexecuteproperlydetersthetrustandbeliefcitizens
haveinnotonlyourjusticesystem,butthegovernmentasawhole.Manyofthecondemnedpersonsarewrongly
represented.Inexperiencedlawyersareapersistentproblemincapitalcases.Qualityoftherepresentationonereceives
iscrucialindeterminingtheoutcomeofthesentence.Whenastrong,intelligent,andexperiencedlawyerrepresentsa
defendant,thecaseismorelikelytohaveadifferentoutcomecomparedtosomeonewhoisinexperienced.Thisisnot
just.Almostalldefendantsincapitalcasescannotaffordtheirownattorneys.Therehaveevenbeeninstancesinwhich
lawyersappointedtoadeathcaseweresoinexperiencedthattheywerecompletelyunpreparedforthesentencingphase
ofthetrial.Otherappointedattorneyshavesleptthroughpartsofthetrial,orarrivedatthecourtundertheinfluenceof
alcohol.Therighttofairtrialisanessentialrightinallcountriesrespectingtheruleoflaw.Doesthisseemfair?Equal
representationisessentialbeforecondemningadefendanttocapitalpunishment.
Thebiggestconcernwhensentencingsomeonetodeathrowiswrongfulconviction.Researchshowsthatthe
humanmindisnotlikeataperecorderweneitherrecordeventsexactlyasweseethem,norrecallthemlikeatapethat
hasbeenrewound.Instead,witnessmemoryislikeanyotherevidenceatacrimesceneitmustbepreservedcarefully
andretrievedmethodically,oritcanbecontaminated.Humanerrorisdevastatingwhenconsideringaninnocent
personslifecouldbeatstake.Faulty,poor,orsimplyinadequatesciencehasbeenusedtotestifyinsomecaseswithout
aproperscientificbasisfortheirfindings.Andinsomecases,forensicanalystshaveengagedinmisconduct.Many
casesofwrongfulconvictionincludeevidenceofnegligence,fraud,andmisconductbyprosecutorsandlaw
enforcement,theverypeopleresponsibleforinsuringtruthandjusticeinourcriminaljusticesystem.RonWilliamson
andDennisFritzwerereleasedfromprisonin1999.Theywereinnocentmenwhowerewrongfullyconvictedofthe
rapeofDebraCarter.Ifthejudicialbranchcannotthoroughlyexecutethedeathpenaltyprocess,thanwhyhavethe
deathpenaltyinthefirstplace?
Thedeathpenaltyismuchmoreexpensiveduetothelongjudicialprocessthatismandatorytoensurethe
justiceandsafetyofinnocentmenandwomenbeingprosecutedforcrimestheydidnotcommit.Itcostfarlessto
subjectacriminaltolifewithoutparolethantoputthemondeathrow.InCaliforniathecurrentsystemcosts$137
millionperyearitwouldcost$11.5millionforasystemwithoutthedeathpenalty.Theeconomyandtaxpayersare
sufferingduetothesuperfluousamountsofmoneyneededtofundthedeathpenalty.Theadditionalcostofconfining
aninmatetodeathrow,ascomparedtothemaximumsecurityprisonswherethosesentencedtolifewithoutpossibility
ofparoleordinarilyservetheirsentences,is$90,000peryearperinmate.WithCalifornia'scurrentdeathrow
populationof670,thataccountsfor$63.3millionannually.ThatsspeakingCaliforniaalone.Wearefarbetteroff
spendingourtaxdollarsonsomethingthatwouldbetterourcountry,nothousingconvicts.

CapitalPunishmentdoesnothaveacleanreputationasitwasabusedbykingsandmonarchsandmanysuffered
fromminorcrimes,falseinformation,andfalseconviction.Wehavetolearnfromourmistakesbecausethesayingis
true,historyrepeatsitself.TheexpulsionofcapitalpunishmentwillleadAmericaintherightdirection.