N.C. Lawyer Proposes Death Penalty Panel

A prominent defense lawyer from Raleigh has suggested that the state of North Carolina change the way the death penalty is dispensed.

Joseph B. Cheshire V proposed having the state establish a panel to determine before trial whether a defendant should face the death penalty if convicted.

This process would take the decision over which defendants face the death penalty away from district attorneys.

The suggestion interested legislators on a House committee studying how North Carolina carries out capital punishment. Cheshire said such a panel would help take political considerations out of murder cases.

Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat, said a disproportionate number of death row inmates come from a small group of counties, while 39 counties have no one on death row."A person's chances of being sent to death row seem to depend on the district where the crime was committed," he said.

This suggestion would allow for a more consistent application of the death penalty. Inconsistent application and disproportionate sentences partial to political characteristics such as race and geography have plagued southern legal systems and capital punishment. Short of abolition, a more uniform application of the death penalty should be seriously considered as a means to make the process more just.