| Death Penalty Moratorium Implementation Project |
| Working to Obtain a Nationwide Moratorium on Executions |
The American Bar Association has adopted of series of policies geared toward ensuring that capital cases are adjudicated fairly, impartially, in accordance with due process of law, and to minimize the risk that innocent persons are executed.
2000s
Proposes that defendants in military capital cases be given the right to trial before court martial panels whose size is fixed at 12 members. 8/01 - download report |
Adopts revisions to the black letter ABA Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and recommends adoption of the Guidelines by death penalty jurisdictions. 2/03 - download report |
Urges states, territories and the federal government to establish (1) standards and provide an accessible process by which prisoners may request a reduction of sentence in exceptional circumstances; and (2) standards governing application for executive clemency and specify procedures an individual must follow in order to qualify for a grant of clemency and ensure that clemency procedures are reasonably accessible to all persons. 8/04 - download report |
Adopts the ABA Principles Relating to Juries and Jury Trials dated February 2005 and recommends that the appropriate entities review and revise, as appropriate, their respective Standards so as to eliminate any conflicts with the Principles and urges state, local, and territorial bar associations to improve the management of jury trials by promoting implementation of the Principles. 2/05 - download report |
Urges federal, state, local, and territorial governments to reduce the risk of convicting the innocent by establishing standards of practice for defense counsel in serious non-capital cases. 2/05 - download report |
Urges federal, state, local, and territorial governments to reduce the risk of convicting the innocent while increasing the likelihood of convicting the guilty, by ensuring that no prosecution should occur based solely on the uncorroborated testimony of a jailhouse informant. 2/05 - download report |
Urges jurisdictions to enact statutes to adequately compensate individuals who have been convicted and incarcerated for crimes they did not commit and identifying factors that should be considered in drafting such statutes. 2/05 - download report |
Without taking a position supporting or opposing the death penalty, urges each jurisdiction that imposes capital punishment to implement specific policies and procedures as it relates to mental illness. 8/06 - download report |
1990s
Urge implementation of certain measures in the litigation of death penalty cases, including the provision of competent and adequately compensated counsel, and commend to Congress sample legislation as a way to implement the recommendations. 2/90 - download report |
Death Penalty Legislation and Native Americans. Without taking a position on the enactment of general federal death penalty legislation, support in principle legislative measures, which would prevent or minimize any disproportionate effects of general federal death penalty legislation on Native Americans subject to federal jurisdiction. 8/91 - download report |
Urge jurisdictions that impose capital punishment not to carry out the death penalty until the jurisdiction implements policies and procedures that are consistent with four longstanding Association policies intended to (1) ensure that death penalty cases are administered fairly and impartially, in accordance with due process; and (2) minimize the risk that innocent persons may be executed, with the understanding that, apart from existing policies relating to offenders who are mentally retarded or under the age of 18 at the time of the commission of the offenses, the Association takes no position on the death penalty. 2/97 - download report |
Supports principles to preserve and strengthen federal judicial independence and separation of powers, and urges the ABA to take the lead in the formation of a consortium of organization dedicated to an independent judiciary and an impartial system of equal justice. 2/98 - download report |
1980s
Oppose legislative limitations on habeas corpus proceedings, support adoption of procedures in state and federal courts to expedite appropriately the legal steps which must be pursued between entry of the judgment of conviction by the state court and resolution of the federal habeas corpus proceding, support the prompt availability of competent counsel for state and federal court proceedings, and support a high standard for competence of counsel that is uniform across all jurisdictions for all proceedings. 8/82 - download report |
Oppose in principle the imposition of capital punishment upon any person for any offense committed while under the age of 18. 8/83- download report |
Recommend that when attorneys are appointed to represent defendants in the trial of death penalty cases, two attorneys shall be appointed as trial counsel to represent the defendant, and the primary attorney shall have substantial trial experience which includes the trial of serious felony cases. 2/85 - download report |
Support full utilization of certain provisions pertaining to representation in federal habeas corpus death penalty proceedings and acknowledge the efforts of the federal judges to implement them. Urge federal district and circuit courts to adopt and federal circuit judicial councils to approve (1) a plan for providing representation in federal habeas corpus death penalty proceedings in accordance with certain procedures, and (2) certain amendments to its Criminal Justice Act plan. Urge the federal courts to consult extensively with appropriate state criminal justice leaders in developing and carrying out such implementation plans. 2/88 - download report |
Oppose discrimination in capital sentencing on the basis of the race of either the victim or the defendant; support legislation that strives to eliminate racial discrimination in capital sentencing and which provides that a challenge to a death sentence can result in relief in certain instances. 8/88 - download report |
Recommend adoption of Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Counsel in Death Penalty Cases, subject to such exceptions as may be appropriate in the military, by entities providing counsel in death penalty cases. 2/89. Please see revised Guidelines of 2/03 for current ABA policy. |
Urge that no person with mental retardation, as now defined by the American Association on Mental Retardation, should be sentenced to death or executed. Support enactment of legislation barring the execution of defendants with mental retardation. 2/89 - download report |
1970s
Recommend that the U.S. Supreme Court adopt a rule providing for appointment of counsel to prepare petitions for discretionary review of state court convictions, including appropriate post-conviction or clemency petitions if necessary, in death penalty cases where the defendant cannot afford to hire counsel. Offer its assistance in identifying qualified attorneys. Recommend the amendment of the Criminal Justice Act (18 U.S.C. §3600A) to provide adequate compensation to counsel so appointed. 2/79 - download report |
