Lost Lives: Miscarriages of Justice in Capital Cases

Until recently, the conviction of innocent defendants was not seen as a special hazard of capital punishment. In the past decade this complacent view has been shattered. In case after case, erroneous conviction for capital murder has been proven. I contend that these are not disconnected accidents, but systematic consequences of the nature of homicide prosecution in general and capital prosecution in particular - that in this respect, as in others, death distorts and undermines the course of law.