Even if someone has received the death penalty in a state case rather than a federal one, they can still end up appealing the sentence in a federal appeals court. However, they must go through the state appeals courts first to give them the opportunity to correct an error, if there was one.
If their state appeals have been exhausted, they can appeal their sentence in a federal district court by filing a writ of habeas corpus. Literally meaning “produce the body,” it essentially means in these cases that the government must allow a defendant to appear in court to contest the judgment against them.
If they don’t prevail in federal district court, they can go to a federal appeals court. With a writ of certiorari, they can seek a review by the court of the sentencing to determine if there were errors in process or violations of their constitutional rights that warrant overturning the sentence (and possibly the verdict).
Reasons for appeal
In some cases, there is new evidence that’s been obtained since the verdict and sentencing. There have been many high-profile cases (and many more that weren’t so high-profile) of people who had been on “Death Row” for decades who were exonerated because DNA evidence that wasn’t available at the time was located.
Other common grounds for appeal include:
- “Ineffective assistance of counsel:” These are often – but not always – overworked public defenders.
- Prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence: This is known as a “Brady” violation after a specific case.
- Juror misconduct
Because people who have been sentenced to death (“capital punishment”) are allowed a number of avenues for appeal, it can take decades to exhaust them all. However, having sound legal guidance can give people the best chance of getting a death sentence – or the conviction behind it – overturned.