“Mental pain is an inseparable part of our practice of punishing criminals by death, for the prospect of pending execution exacts a frightful toll during the inevitable wait between the imposition of sentence and the actual infliction of death.”
— Supreme Court Justice William Brennan
The System
The Realities of Capital Punishment in America
A death sentence often comes down to the quality of the legal team representing a defendant.
The Truth
For someone who has not witnessed the stark realities of a maximum security prison firsthand, it may seem there is little difference between a sentence of death and life imprisonment: both involve never again living outside of prison walls, and many of those sentenced to death spend years awaiting execution. From the perspective of the person sentenced and their loved ones, however, the difference is dramatic.
Many people on death row spend 23 hours a day in their cells. If they are able to entirely avoid even the slightest disciplinary infraction, they are permitted one hour, shackled at the wrists and ankles, in the equivalent of an outdoor dog kennel for “recreation.” They are never allowed even the slightest physical contact with their loved ones, as any family member who visits must do so from the opposite side of a thick glass window.
And looming over them always is the knowledge that a day will come when they will be strapped to a gurney and injected with chemicals that will collapse their lungs and stop their heart, a psychological torture unthinkable even to those serving life sentences.
By the Numbers
1,500+
individuals have been executed in the United States through capital punishment.
34%
of individuals executed in the U.S. are African-American/Black males, a rate nearly three times the population.
1 in 5
people on death row today are estimated to suffer from a serious mental illness, impairing their competence or understanding.
2%
of U.S. counties have been responsible for over 50% of all executions in the U.S. since 1976.
82%
of the executions carried out in the United States since 1976 have occurred in southern states.
70%
of countries have abolished the death penalty, including most in the western hemisphere — except the United States.
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As a nonprofit organization, Suzerain Capital Defense relies entirely on the support of donors to provide a zealous defense of our clients. We receive no funding from federal, state, or local government.