Rewriting History: The Use of Feminist Narratives to Deconstruct the Myth of the Capital Defendant

Introduction

‘The accused is innocent until proven guilty’-jurors take this fundamental tenet of the United States criminal justice system seriously as they approach their role as deciders of a defendant’s fate. What happens after a verdict is rendered is markedly less clear. Once a guilty verdict has been handed down, the defendant in a criminal trial can too easily cease to be seen as a “person” and be reduced in the eyes of a jury to no more than the sum of his worst actions.  This transition can be especially damaging in the penalty phase of a capital trial, where a jury that has declared a defendant’s guilt minutes before is now asked to look beyond the defendant’s crime and determine if he is worthy of life.

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