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52 Conn. L. Rev. Online 1 (2019-2020)

handle is hein.journals/conntemp52 and id is 1 raw text is: CONNECTICUT LAW REVIEW VOLUME 52 APRIL 2019 ONLINE EDITION Essay The Ultimate Dilemma: Conceding a Client's Guilt to Avoid a Death Sentence KENNETH WILLIAMS One of the dilemmas death penalty lawyers frequently face is how best to defend a client when there is overwhelming evidence of the client's guilt. Because death penalty proceedings are litigated in two phases, attorneys must often decide whether to put their energy and limited resources into both phases of the trial or whether to put more emphasis on saving the client's life by conceding guilt and presenting a vigorous punishment-phase defense. By conceding guilt the attorney may retain credibility with the jury which might make the jury more receptive to the arguments presented during the punishment phase. However, the client may wish to continue to maintain his innocence. This dilemma was faced by the attorney for Robert McCoy, a Louisiana death row inmate who objected to his attorney's concession of guilt and whose case ended up before the US. Supreme Court. This paper discusses the Supreme Court's holding in McCoy v. Louisiana. The article analyzes and critiques both the majority and dissenting opinions based on the author's 25-year experience representing inmates sentenced to death. The article also reconciles the decision in McCoy with the Court's previous decision in Florida v. Nixon in which the Court decided a similar issue and explains why the decisions are not inconsistent. The article also discusses the predicament ofan attorney who must represent a defendant who objects to the attorney's proposed strategy of conceding guilt. After McCoy, an attorney in a death penalty case who believes that conceding his client's guilt is the best course of action can proceed with this strategy unless the client expressly objects to him doing so. The article concludes that the Supreme Court struck the right balance between the defendant's right to maintain his innocence and the attorney's right to make good strategic decisions.

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