The Death Penalty Dilemma: Lessons From The Ross Case

From the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, an insightful article written by Michael Meltsner about Michael Ross's death penalty case in Connecticut . Meltsner worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund during Furman vs. Georgia and is currently professor at Northeastern University School of Law.

If it didn't involve a series of brutal rapes and murders, a psychopath who can't get the state to execute him and a deeply confused legal system, what's happening in Connecticut would be the stuff of satire.

Instead, we can only hope the lessons of the on-again, off-again, circus-like saga of Michael Ross' dates with death are not lost on Massachusetts legislators who will have a chance to save us from making the same mistakes as our neighbor to the south when they soon consider Gov. Mitt Romney's plan for a "foolproof" death penalty.

Sentenced to death for crimes he admitted more than 20 years ago, Ross' case was still working its way through the courts when he instructed his attorney to seek an execution date. He said it was to save the families of his victims from further anguish; others claim being held in a dungeon-like prison further warped his judgment.

Click here for the full article.

Posted by beth at 11:56 AM