Yesenia Cardona
Professor Nolan
English 112
January 30, 2011
Homework Assignment #1 In his essay, “Deadly Compromise,” Green is neither for nor against the death penalty. He seems to be neutral on his views. Green seems to be more concerned with the problems of congress and how effectively they run the judicial system when it comes to the death penalty. He believes “the present system is the worst of both worlds.” (394) Both sides, prosecutors and defense attorneys, “have been in dispute ever since and the result is today’s beleaguered system.” (394) “Unable to abolish capital punishment in the legislature, defense lawyers have sought to institute a de facto halt to executions by stalling cases in court….. and using delay tactics to stop executions……while conservatives have limited the appeals process at the state and federal levels and expanded the scope of crimes punishable by death.” (395) Green makes clear both positive and negatives of both sides of the issues of the death penalty. It has been a constant tug-of-war between both sides of the system and their views on the death penalty. “While defense lawyers are commonly faulted for delays, prosecutors often drag their feet when exculpatory evidence raises questions of innocence.” Green believes the source of the problem is in congress and at the local level where most death penalty cases originate. The judicial system itself causes the problem. He believes legislatures have failed to improve the system. He believes “public defenders often lack the skill, resources, and commitment to defend capital cases properly and the overzealous prosecutors often tout their death penalty convictions and are far less likely to question whether such convictions are necessary.” (398)
Green believes that the problem must be fixed earlier in the criminal justice cycle. He is for making the necessary changes to