'System is utterly broken' in death penalty capital of the US, report finds

Many prisoners on death row receive largely inadequate legal representation until their sentencing due to an "utterly broken system", a report found.

A scathing two-part report published by the Wren Collective has exposed severe shortcomings in Harris County's death penalty cases, raising concerns about inadequate defence representation and structural issues within the indigent defence system.

The report, released on Monday, reviewed 28 cases, encompassing the majority of death sentences in Harris County over the past two decades. Wren Collective, a group of former public defenders specializing in criminal justice research, found a troubling pattern: defence lawyers consistently failed to present crucial evidence that could have spared defendants from death row.

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Key findings include instances where crucial information about mental illness, intellectual disability, physical abuse, and sexual abuse was overlooked. Shockingly, in some cases, attorneys failed to prepare vital witnesses until the day they were scheduled to testify.

Jessica Brand, founder of the Wren Collective and former Texas Defender Service member told the Huffington Post: "The stakes of capital murder cases could not possibly be higher, and yet for decades, people have gone to death row with serious intellectual disability claims and lengthy histories of severe physical and sexual abuse. It is not because juries did not believe their stories — it's because they never heard them."

The report attributes these deficiencies to the structural issues within Harris County's indigent defence system for capital cases. The system allows trial judges to appoint defence lawyers and approve requests for experts and investigators, creating an inherent conflict of interest. Private lawyers, paid hourly, may feel pressured to expedite cases or request insufficient resources to maintain judicial favour.

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Racial disparities were also evident in the findings, with 17 out of 28 individuals facing death sentences being Black and eight being Latinx. The report dispels the misconception that the death penalty is reserved for the worst offenders, revealing a stark reality of individuals grappling with abuse, poverty, and untreated mental illness.

Mitigation investigation, a crucial aspect of defence strategy, was described as time-consuming work requiring trust-building between lawyers and clients. The report emphasized that this vital step was often neglected, impacting the presentation of defendants' life histories.

One of the report's recommendations is a fundamental change in Harris County's defence system, urging the establishment of a capital defender office independent of judicial influence. Public defender offices, known for employing specialists and investigators trained in capital cases, were suggested as a more effective alternative to the current appointment system.

The report concludes with a stark warning: without a radical change in the system of representation, Harris County will continue to send individuals to death row without affording them the vigorous defence they deserve.