Death penalty cases in Georgia are relatively rare. After years of executions being halted in Georgia, the State reinstituted the practice in 1973. Since that time, less than 100 convicted felons have actually been put to death by the State. Due to the extremely serious situation, persons facing the death penalty should hire only a criminal defense lawyer that has prior experience with capital punishment cases.
Capital punishment continues to be a hotly contested form of punishment in the United States. The public support for capital punishment remains significant in 2021, and is a viable punishment in 25 states.
Regarding public opinion on the death penalty, a Gallup Poll on Life Without Parole vs. Death Penalty reported; “Over the years, support for the sentence of Life Without Parole as an alternative to the death penalty has risen to the point where now the country is about evenly split between capital punishment and LWOP. In 1994, only 32% favored LWOP, with 50% favoring death. In 2006, support for LWOP had grown to 48%. In 2010, LWOP support registered 46% and the death penalty registered 49%. In 2014, results remained about the same: LWOP 45% and death penalty 50%.” 1
In Georgia all executions are carried out utilizing lethal injection. Lethal injection is basically a controlled process of intravenously injecting a person with a drug that results in the convicted person becoming unconscious, then a failure to breathe which culminates in heart arrhythmia.
In Georgia, capital punishment may be used only if the convicted person is 17 years old and older. The prosecuting authority is not required to seek the death penalty in any particular case. Truthfully, there are some intangible, often undisclosed, factors that can affect whether or not a prosecuting body chooses to seek the death penalty. Among these factors are:
There are potential capital punishment cases that may normally seem like a fir for the death penalty but factors such as the mental illness of the accused may cause the prosecution to not seek the death penalty. In cases where the mental capacity may be in question, the defense counsel needs to establish a reasonable belief that a defendant’s mental issues made it virtually impossible for them to comprehend the severity of their actions. The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly rejected arguments to shield most mentally ill people, limiting such protection to only persons found to be legally insane.
The Criminal Justice research website published an article on Mental Illness and the Death Penalty. The article puts forth the following belief, “The “evolving standards” guideline, set forth by Trop v. Dulles (1958), is generally measured by factors including the public’s opinion and existing state legislation. For instance, the Court considered it relevant that, at the time of the Ford ruling, no state permitted the execution of the mentally ill. The Court then detailed the common law and historical evidence indicating that executing the mentally ill has long been rejected in American society. Finally, the Court determined that executing the mentally ill serves no state interest and is not a deterrent to crime. As such, it is cruel and unusual punishment.” 2
Per the Findlaw website, the Georgia definition of capital homicide is as follows; “Murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping committed by a person with prior record of conviction for capital felony; murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping committed while engaged in commission of other capital felony; knowingly created grave risk of death to multiple persons in public place by use of weapon/device; murder committed for financial gain; judicial officer, district attorney or solicitor (or formers) because of exercise of duties; committed as agent of another; outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman; against peace officer, corrections officer, fireman while performing duties; offender escaped from lawful custody/confinement; avoiding lawful arrest” 3
The DeathPenaltyInfo.org website has published information that validates the belief that the death penalty is almost always for crimes involving murder(s). In particular, almost 50% of all death penalty sentences in the United States include the murder of a child as an aggravating circumstance. The online article further stated, “All of the prisoners currently on death row and all of those executed in the modern era of the death penalty were convicted of murder. Historically, the death penalty was widely used for rape, particularly against black defendants with white victims. When the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, the Supreme Court left open the possibility of imposing the death penalty for offenses other than murder, such as rape or even armed robbery. However, the Court soon ruled that the death penalty would be unconstitutional for the rape of an adult where no death had occurred. T” 4
Georgia’s death penalty statute is defined in Georgia Code Title 17. Criminal Procedure § 17-10-30.
This article was originally published on the website of Grisham, Poole, & Carlile, P.C., and is published here with full permission of the author.