Death Penalty and 'No Contest' Pleas.

Factual Questions
1

Can they execute a person in the US if they plead ‘nolo contendere’ a/k/a no contest to first degree murder? I must say I’ve never heard of it happening.

People in the know about law often say the only advantage to a NC plea is it can’t be used in collateral proceedings against you, i.e. lawsuits. How ironic it would be if it saved you from the death penalty too.

Also, I don’t have a cite. But the supreme court has said a state basically has to bend over backwards for you in death penalty cases, and it only applies to first degree murder. (I heard that on TV once. You got to get your information where you can;).)

:):):slight_smile:

2

I’m pretty sure no judge would accept a plea of Nolo contendere in a capital murder trial.

3

Jim, you can check your state’s code, but here is Ohio’s, read the whole Rule 11.

http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/LegalResources/Rules/criminal/CriminalProcedure.pdf

4

I assume another aspect of nolo contendere is that the whole trial, with testimony about who did what and how vicious or wanton the crime was, will not be presented. OTOH, how does that work where a jury is required to recommend the death penalty?

(Recall in the heyday for yellow journalism in New York City, one mob boss pled nolo contendere to a particular charge, and the astute and well-educated press corps at one local newspaper ran the headline “[Name] Pleads Guilty in Italian!”)

5

People generally plead guilty in murder cases in exchange for something (such as life in prison instead of death penalty). You’re not going to see someone just pleading guilty “as charged” without something in return. So, in the real world, there is no incentive to enter a plea to a capital charge. However, imagine Timothy McVeigh entering a “no contest” plea. I see no reason he couldn’t have been given the death penalty if he had.

6

met a federal public defender and she said over 90% take a plea deal. The ones that don’t are mostly things like murder where they don’t have much to lose by going to trial.

7

Some killers just want the whole thing (including their life) to be over. So they plead guilty, don’t cooperate with lawyers, refuse appeals, etc.

Generally very unhappy folk who want to have the state assist in their suicide.

I do not see the advantage on the criminal side to doing a nolo vs. pleading guilty, however.

8

Just because there isn’t a trial doesn’t mean there can’t be a sentencing hearing.

Take the case of Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the house, who pleaded guilty to financial crimes in order to avoid facing accusations that he committed those crimes to cover up child molestation. Even though he was not charged with any sex crimes, at his sentencing hearing for the financial crimes the prosecution presented witnesses who said he molested them and the judge directly asked him if he had molested children.