Serving as a juror fulfills one’s civic duty to ensure a system of checks and balances in the U.S. In capital cases, however, “death qualification” ensures that prospective jurors opposed to the death penalty will not have the opportunity to perform this civic duty. This week’s Proof Over Precedent episode features a “Student Voices” interview with Megan Byrne of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project to discuss the shortcomings of less diverse juries due to race, gender, and religious differences. It also looks at a capital case in Kansas in which the courts examined the problems associated with death qualification and the death penalty overall.
Read the corresponding blog post.
Speakers:
- Liliana Yearns, J.D. Candidate, Harvard Law School
- Megan Byrne, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Capital Punishment Project, American Civil Liberties Union
Resources mentioned:
- Solano County, California survey – Mona Lynch and Craig Haney, Law & Policy, University of Denver. Death Qualification in Black and White: Racialized Decision Making and Death-Qualified Juries
- Mock jury survey – Samuel R. Sommers, Tufts University. On Racial Diversity and Group Decision Making: Identifying Multiple Effects of Racial Composition on Jury Deliberations
- Challenging Death Qualification and the Death Penalty in Kansas, ACLU
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Proof Over Precedent cover art by Courtney Chrystal