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Utah Death Penalty Amendment Defeated

By Michael Blankenship

A visibly upset Attorney General Mark Shurtleff left the House Thursday morning after representatives shot down a constitutional amendment that would streamline the post-conviction death penalty appeals process. Read more....The citizens of Utah don't know how fortunate they are that this proposed policy was defeated. The proposed amendment to the state constitution would have limited anyone convicted of a crime to just one appeal. The impact of this radical change would have been a significant increase in the number of wrongful convictions. If a defendant cannot prove that he or she is not guilty at trial, how are they supposed to accomplish this feat while incarcerated after having lost the presumption of innocence after the conviction?The proposed amendment is also contrary to the purpose of constitutions - the limitation of the power of the state...continue to full post

Full post as published by The Justice Gambit on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).