Abstract
The prosecutor wields tremendous power within the American criminal justice system. When that power is misused-particularly in capital cases-tremendous injustices are perpetrated. Yet, occurrences of prosecutorial misconduct seem to occur with distressing regularity. An exhaustive study covering appeals from 1973-95 revealed that two-thirds of overturned death penalties in the United States resulted from overzealous police and prosecutors who withheld exculpatory evidence. Our study covered 55 Kentucky cases from 1976-2000 and found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in nearly one-half of them, often with several instances per case.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2004
7-8-2016
Repository Citation
Harding, Roberta M. and Thompson, Bankole, "Prosecutorial Misconduct in Capital Cases in the Commonwealth of Kentucky: A Research Study 1976-2000" (2004). Law Faculty Scholarly Articles. 562.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/law_facpub/562
Notes/Citation Information
Roberta M. Harding & Bankole Thompson, Prosecutorial Misconduct in Capital Cases in the Commonwealth of Kentucky: A Research Study 1976-2000, 6 Ky. Just. & Safety Res. Bull. 1 (2004).