On Thu., Oct. 21, the Missouri Supreme Court set a due process hearing for Roderick Nunley for January, 2011. Nunley was to have been executed Oct. 21. On Mon., Oct. 18, a federal judge issued a stay on the case, citing a need to clarify whether Nunley, who had been sentenced to death by a judge, had the right to be sentenced instead by a jury. The judge said that this due process issue needed to be studied further. On Tue., Oct. 19, the Eighth US Circuit Court upheld that stay as did the US Supreme Court.
Nunley pled guilty and was sentenced to death in 1991 for the murder of Ann Harrison. The murder was a shocking and brutal crime.
The Nunley case reveals the high cost of cutting corners in capital cases. Missouri’s criminal justice system is obligated to follow the legal process of prosecuting death penalty cases, including adhering to all of the prescribed procedures, no matter the crime, the victim, or the defendant.
Cutting corners on some key aspects of due process nearly 20 years ago in the Nunley case is one of the reasons that the case is heading to the Missouri Supreme Court again in January. Due process procedures are not mere technicalities; they are constitutional protections designed to protect us all from governmental error and majority prejudice. Following all of these procedures in every case is not only absolutely essential in capital cases, it’s also very expensive. Missouri cuts corners on criminal justice at the expense of all Missourians. For example, Missouri’s public defender system is ranked 49th in the nation requiring an additional $22 million annually in order to handle the expected caseload, and there is no fiscal relief in sight. Three of the 138 people who have been exonerated from death row in the US are from Missouri.
Alternatives to the Death Penalty
The death penalty system in Missouri is broken. The Nunley case, as it heads to court yet again, reminds us that Missouri cannot afford to cut corners on the constitutional protections required in capital cases. The fiscal situation in Missouri, however, seems to indicate that we actually cannot afford to fully practice these protections either.
Ending the death penalty in Missouri would allow the state to focus resources instead on solving more cases of violent crime, taking violent offenders off the streets and providing meaningful support for victims and their families.
Donnie Morehouse
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