In Alabama, A Judge Can "Override" A Jury's Decision to Not Impose The Death Penalty

Alabama condemns more people to death, per capita, than any other state, and it is one of three states in the country with a judicial-override law, allowing a judge to "override" a jury's decision not to impose the death penalty. In Florida and Delaware, the two other states with the provision, judges use the prerogative very sparingly, and when they do it’s almost always to convert death sentences to life. But unlike Florida and Delaware, Alabama holds partisan elections for judgeships, and judges aim to be seen as tough on crime. In "Double Jeopardy," New Yorker contributor Paige Williams investigates this phenomenon and explores the story of Shonelle Jackson, a death-row inmate trying to overturn the override decision made against him in spite of a jury’s unanimous rejection of the death penalty. The article appears in the November 17 issue of The New Yorker.