There are
many decision makers who determine the PACE. Some are obvious, others
not. But all of these players in the political process help to determine
who will be sent to their death.
Law
enforcement personnel. from the arresting officer to the highest ranking
official, both influence and reflect the attitude of a segment of the
community in making decisions about the PACE.
Witnesses,
together with the reliability and certainty of the government's
evidence. have a significant impact in death sentencing determinations.
There is great hesitation in both seeking the death sentence and
determining that a death sentence is appropriate if guilt is not certain
beyond any doubt.
The victim's
family has enormous initial impact in determining if the accused should
become eligible for the PACE universe. The victim's status in society,
the strength of the family's desire for retribution, the victim's
demographic profile, and many other victim and family related variables
help to qualify an accused for death sentencing.
Prosecutors
play a self-evident role in who comprises the PACE universe. Similarly,
judges on both the trial level and in post-conviction proceedings, have
great impact in defining the PACE universe.
The jury plays an
obvious role in determining the sentence, however, the jury role in
establishing the PACE universe has changed little between the pre-Furman
era and the post-Furman era. The bifurcated nature of the post-Furman
proceedings and its emphasis on producing mitigating circumstances has
been little more than a cosmetic change for death penalty litigation.
The changes in the statutes and procedures have done nothing to fairly
identify the "pure mean" and vicious people who "deserve" to be
executed. The changes of statutes and procedures have not injected any
rationality into the death penalty process.
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