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To: Original Mad Dog who wrote (15673)	6/26/2002 9:47:33 PM
From: E	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 21057

I think the process by which of the criminals gets charged with a capital offense is a 'lottery' in a real sense, and I've discussed why I think that, so won't repeat. The book that impressed this on me was written by this man: law.yale.edu Who died last year, I see. The title is Capital Punishment: The Inevitability of Caprice and Mistake. Beautifully written and persuasive. "Lottery" is of course a metaphor, but that isn't a bad thing, if the metaphor is apt.

To: Original Mad Dog who wrote (15673)	6/26/2002 9:53:48 PM
From: E	Respond to of 21057

Look, people are being executed who, statistics strongly suggest, wouldn't be if the judge weren't up for reelection: Excerpts: "Far, far, far more often when the judges override the jury, it is in order to impose the death penalty when the jury has recommended life," Mr. Tabak said, "and it's even more likely when the judge is up for election." Stephen B. Bright of the Southern Center for Human Rights has collected statistics from Alabama. "You have 83 overrides from life to death," he said, "and only 7 from death to life."... ...A second factor, he said, is that some elected judges may feel that they cannot afford to be seen as soft on the death penalty, even with the political cover afforded by a jury's advisory verdict. In Delaware, the only state with both an advisory verdict system and appointed judges, judges have overridden seven jury recommendations, all from death to life. nytimes.com