Can a Guilty Defendant Request the Death Penalty?

Can a Death Row Inmate Request Their Own Execution?

Can a Death Row Inmate Request Their Own Execution?

The Legal Avenues of Waiving Appeals

When you are sentenced to death, there is an automatic appeal to that judgment called ‘the direct appeal.’ In many states, this is mandatory and in others, it is optional. A convict can pursue appeals all the way up the court chain to the U. S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, or, “to be more fully informed,” in Latin. If the Supreme Court denies this appeal, then all appeals have been exhausted and there is now nothing the inmate can look forward to except for their final meal.

If an inmate wanted to expedite their execution, they can do so by waiving their appeals. In capital punishment, this type of inmate is known as a “volunteer.” As long as they are ruled as competent and they are making this decision voluntarily and without coercion, inmates have the right to waive their appeals so long as their state has optional appeals.

The Right to Voluntarily End Their Life

From a foundational respect for an individual’s decision-making capacity, we believe that if a person has agency, they are free to exert it as they see fit. Unless, of course, that exertion impinges on or harms others. A lot of the time, a death row inmate has done something truly egregious. The freedom to volunteer for one’s execution is sound logic. Inmates have begged and pleaded for their executions to be carried out as soon as possible; some have even taken matters into their own hands. They choose this for various reason; sometimes, it is a result of the psychological impact of being on death row, while others believe they are making peace with their fate, and there are those who never wish to live else.

The Gray Area of Volunteering for Execution

Regardless of view of the death penalty, is it justice to allow a death row inmate to seek their own death? Wouldn’t that potentially strip the surviving victims of the crime of the justice they’re entitled to? It’s hard to say. The psychological impact of being on death row can’t be ignored. We acknowledge suicidal ideation, and seeking to end one’s life as a mental disorder. Are death row inmates competent and of sound mind to volunteer for their own execution? When almost all death row prisoners have struggled with mental health issues to varying degrees, we must look at the issue with a more compassionate lens.

The Example of Gary Gilmore

Gary Gilmore was the first inmate to get execution after the re-enactment of the death penalty in 1977. Gilmore had withdrawn his right to appeal and requested that his death sentence be enforced soonest. His mother sued for a stay of execution on his behalf, but the Supreme Court had refused to hear her claim. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), against Gilmore’s wishes, successfully won a few stays. Gilmore was not pleased with their efforts, stating: “They always want to get in on the act. I don’t think they have ever done anything effective in their lives. I would like them all—including that group of reverends and rabbis from Salt Lake City—to butt out. This is my life and this is my death. It’s been sanctioned by the courts that I die, and I accept that.” Gilmore was executed by firing squad.

The Case of Florida Inmate James Barnes

Floridian death row inmate James Barnes in 2023 was successful in volunteering for his execution. In a statement released by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP), “Without appointing any experts, the judge found Mr. Barnes competent to commit state-assisted suicide and cleared the path for him to die in our name.” His request was granted without any further delay, and he was executed.

The Ethical Dilemma

Legally, death row inmates have the right to waive their appeals and expedite their execution as long as they aren’t suffering from mental handicaps. The law is clear, but the ethics are not. The one time we respect prisoner’s autonomy is when they are seeking to end their own lives. The mental state of death row inmates is low on the list of society’s concerns, but why care about people who (generally speaking) do not care about others? Ricky Ray Rector, an Arkansas death row inmate who had a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head that was effectively a lobotomy, loved to save his desserts for later. When asked if he understood that he was being put to death, he confirmed that he understood. His final meal consisted of steak, fried chicken, cherry Kool-Aid, and pecan pie. As he was known to do, he set aside his pecan pie for later. He told the corrections officers, as he was being taken to be executed, that he was “saving it for later.” The mental state of death row inmates is a dilemma in contemporary society.

Originally Post From https://www.ajs.org/can-a-guilty-defendant-request-the-death-penalty/