Death row phenomenon
Emotional distress from death row conditions and prolonged waiting.
Last updated
It is distinct from death row syndrome, which is the resulting psychological illness.[1] Individuals condemned to death experience significant psychological suffering due to their circumstances.[1] Between 1976 and 1999, the suicide rate among death row inmates was calculated at 113 per 100,000 individuals.[2]
Quick Facts
- Field
- Legal and psychological concept
- Related concept
- Death row syndrome
- Suicide rate death row
- 113 per 100,000 (1976–1999)
- Suicide rate general us
- About 10 times lower than death row rate
- Suicide rate prison population
- About 6 times lower than death row rate
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
In 1950, a U.S. Supreme Court justice noted that insanity while awaiting execution is not rare.[3][4] Since 1976, at least 165 defendants have been "volunteers" who waived appeals.[5] Gary Gilmore became the first person executed after Gregg v. Georgia in 1977.[5] Four states have executed only volunteers: Connecticut, New Mexico, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.[5]
Incarcerated individuals may spend years confined to spaces comparable in size to a parking spot.[6] For over twenty hours each day, the majority of condemned prisoners remain inside their cells.[6] A significant number of inmates pass away from natural causes as a direct result of prolonged isolation and the anticipation of execution.[6] In the United States, no defendant has ever successfully used arguments based on the death row phenomenon to escape a capital sentence.[7]
What the research sources say
In 2018, Scott Dozier was permitted to waive his appeals in Nevada.[5] The Baze court noted that Kentucky adopted its protocol to make capital punishment more humane.[8] Concurring opinions in Baze and Glossip rejected that view, blaming delays on inmates' appeals.[9] Justices including Stephen Breyer have contended in dissenting opinions that the extended period spent on death row renders capital punishment unconstitutional.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harrison, K. and Tamony, A. (2010). "Death Row Phenomenon, Death Row Syndrome and their Effect on Capital Cases in the US". November 2010. Internet Journal of C (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Suicide on death row", David Lester and Christine Tartaro, Journal of Forensic Sciences, ISSN 0022-1198, 2002, vol. 47, no 5, pp. 1108–1111 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rhona K.M. Smith, Textbook on International Human Rights, second edition, Oxford University Press, 2005, p. 228. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: United States v. Burns (2001). (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "deathpenaltyinfo.org", DeathPentaltyInfo.org. facts only, no text reused. deathpenaltyinfo.org
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Inglis-Arkell, 2014 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Avi Salzman, " ", Santa Clara University, 1 February 2005. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "BAZE et al. v. REES, COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al.", law.cornell.edu. facts only, no text reused. law.cornell.edu
- Wikipedia, "Death row phenomenon" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "BAZE et al. v. REES, COMMISSIONER, KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, et al.", law.cornell.edu; "GLOSSIP et al. v. GROSS et al.", law.cornell.edu (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Death row phenomenon (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Psychopathological syndromes
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Death row phenomenon (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced