Pretend Justice

What’s wrong with the defense representation Tennessee provides to indigent defendants facing the death penalty?

Many of the answers are in Pretend Justice – Defense Representation in Tennessee Death Penalty Cases, an article published in The University of Memphis Law Review by Bill Redick, Brad MacLean and Shane Truett of The Tennessee Justice Project.

Pretend Justice documents the systemic failure of Tennessee to provide effective representation to indigent defendants in capital cases. Tennessee’s failure to provide competent representation results in bad lawyering and a system that is unfair and unjust.

Virtually all capital defendants in Tennessee are indigent and must depend on the same government that seeks to execute them to also provide their defense representation. Most capital defendants are represented by overworked public defenders or appointed private counsels who lack the knowledge and resources to mount an effective defense.

Twenty-five Tennessee death penalty convictions or sentences have been overturned for due to bad lawyering, which is only a small percentage of the captial cases where inadequate defense representation has been provided. In addition, Gov. Phil Bredesen commuted the death sentence of Michael Joe Boyd in 2007 after finding that his appellate representation was “grossly inadequate.”

Tennessee can do much better, and Pretend Justice present a viable solution: the creation of an independent authority to set standards, provide resources and oversee the appointment of defense counsel in capital cases. An independent appointing authority would:

• Create standards for qualifications, performance, compensation, workload, and training for death penalty defense counsel.
• Recruit private appointed counsel, provide resource assistance, and occasionally provide direct representation in death penalty cases.
• Monitor the performance of counsel to ensure that quality representation is being provided and that cases are being adequately investigated.

Pretend Justice concludes that:

Though it may wish, intend, or pretend otherwise, Tennessee has not and is not meeting its constitutional obligations to provide equal justice to defendants charged, convicted, and sentenced to death. 

A statewide oversight authority that is independent of the judiciary will move Tennessee toward a fairer and more reliable administration of capital punishment.

Pretend Justice – Defense Representation in Tennessee Death Penalty Cases

• Pretend Justice Fact Sheet
• Appendix A: TN Death Penalty Cases in Which Relief Was Granted on Conviction or Sentence
• Appendix B: TN Death Penalty Cases in Which Relief Was Granted Due To Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (IAC)
• Appendix C: TN Death Penalty Demographics
• Appendix D: TN Death Penalty Cases in Which Relief Was Granted in State Post-Conviction (Second Tier)” & “Appendix E: TN Death Penalty Cases in Which Relief Was Granted in Federal Habeas Corpus (Third Tier)
• Appendix F: Side-by-Side Comparison of Tennessee Procedures and Requirements of ABA Guidelines

Related Legislation

• Tennessee Death Penalty Representation Services Act of 2008  (SB 2682)
• Tennessee Death Penalty Representation Services Act of 2008  (HB 3334)