Death Penalty - Herrera vs. Collins The Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of executing someone who has claimed actual innocence in the case of Herrera v. Collins. Collins (506 US 390 (1993)). Although the Court left open the possibility that the Constitution prohibits the execution of someone who conclusively proves that he or she is actually innocent, the Court noted that such cases would be very rare. The Court held that, absent other constitutional violations, new evidence of innocence is not grounds for federal courts to order a new trial. The Court also held that an innocent prisoner could seek to prevent his execution through the clemency process, which, historically, has been "the 'fail safe' in our justice system." Herrera was not granted clemency and was executed in 1993. As Herrera grew up, concern about the possibility of executing an innocent person grew. Currently, more than 80 death row inmates have been released as innocent since 1973. In November 1998, Northwestern University held the first National Conference on Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty, in Chicago, Illinois. The Conference, which attracted nationwide attention, brought together 30 of these wrongfully convicted prisoners who were exonerated and released from death row. Many of these cases were discovered not through the justice system, but rather as the result of new scientific techniques, investigations by journalism students, and the work of volunteer lawyers. These resources are not available to the typical death row inmate. Public Support Support for the death penalty has fluctuated over the century. According to Gallup polls, in 1936, 61% of Americans favored the death penalty for people convicted of murder... mid-paper... retaining the death penalty, including China, Iran, and the United States. all of which rank among the highest for international executions in 1998. (Amnesty International, 1999)------------------------------------ ------------- ------------------------------------- ------------SourcesAmnistia Internazionale, "List of abolitionist and maintenance countries", ACT Report 50/01/99, April 1999D. Baker: “A Descriptive Profile and Socio-Historical Analysis of Female Executions in the United States: 1632-1997”; 10(3) Women and criminal justice 57 (1999)R. Bohm, “Deathquest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States,” Anderson Publishing, 1999. “The Death Penalty in America: Current Controversies,” H. Bedau, editor, Oxford University Press, 1997. K. O'Shea, "Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998", Praeger 1999.