The death penalty is a confusing thing in the United States, given that some states have it and some states don’t. In the ‘70s, there was a national ban on the death penalty due to some changes from a case called Georgia v. Furman, but laws were changed, and death penalties resumed in 1976 after a case called Gregg v. Georgia.
Not only does Utah have the death penalty today, but it was the first state to execute someone after it was legal again, executing a defendant by firing squad in 1977. This shows not only that it is legal to execute defendants in Utah but that the state is willing and able to do so. However, there are processes that must be followed, and the death penalty is only available as a penalty for the most serious cases of murder.
For help with your defense, call our Utah murder and manslaughter defense lawyers at Overson Law at (801) 758-2287.
Is the Death Penalty Legal in Utah?
In the 70s, there were challenges to the way the death penalty was conducted, but states took the Supreme Court’s rules and changed the way the death penalty was implemented. Under current case law as of the time of writing this article, the death penalty is legal in Utah.
The case that struck down the way that death penalty cases were conducted was Georgia v. Furman in 1972. There, the court struck down the death penalty for the case at hand, but the justices’ concurrences dealt with different issues of constitutionality and threw into question how the death penalty could continue to be carried out. As such, death penalties were paused until changes were implemented.
In 1976, those changes were completed, and a new method of authorizing the death penalty for specific cases was adopted in Gregg v. Georgia. In that case, death penalties were permitted with a “bifurcated” (two fork) case where one trial finds whether the defendant was guilty or innocent, and a second trial determines whether the death penalty is allowed.
Utah follows these rules, and death penalties resumed in Utah in 1977 with the firing squad execution of Gary Gilmore.
When Does Utah Use the Death Penalty?
Murder under Utah Code § 76-5-203 is a first degree felony with 15 years to life in prison. This is the most serious level of felony, but it is not a “capital offense.” Instead, the death penalty is only available for “aggravated murder” under § 76-5-202. When aggravated murder is charged, the death penalty is only available under certain circumstances with certain procedures, and our Utah murder and manslaughter lawyers can use some of these rules to our advantage to potentially argue down the charges or get the charges reduced at trial.
Even though the death penalty is available, it is quite rare given the procedural hurdles, the difficulty of proving such a serious case, and the difficulty of convincing a jury to elect the death penalty. As such, many cases are ultimately charged as lower-level murder or manslaughter convictions where the prosecution knows they are more likely to get a conviction. Alternatively, many cases that could be more serious are pled down to lower crimes or lower penalties, removing the chance of the death penalty in exchange for a guilty plea.
Aggravated Murder
Utah does not use the traditional “murder 1” and “murder 2” breakdown of premeditated murder and any other “intentional” killing. Instead, the crime of “murder” covers intentional killings, while “aggravated murder” covers intentional killings under much more serious circumstances.
Aggravated murder only applies when the killing happens while in jail, when the defendant kills or tries to kill multiple people, when they are involved in another serious felony or desecration of a corpse, when acting to prevent their or someone else’s arrest, when they kill for hire (or employ a hitman), or when they had a previous conviction for certain serious offenses. Additionally, killing someone as witness intimidation or when the killing involved an elected candidate/official, peace officer, firefighter, judge, or other similar person.
Killings using bombs or other kinds of terroristic acts or devices or widespread harm are also aggravated murder, as are crimes involving mutilation, torture, or other serious depravity.
Intentionally killing a child under 14 is also aggravated murder. The murder does not have to be intentional if it occurred with “reckless indifference to human life” in the course of a serious crime against a child.
Procedures for Seeking the Death Penalty
When the government wants to seek the death penalty in your case, they have to tell you and give you proper notice and follow particular procedures listed in the aggravated murder statute. They also need to use what’s commonly called a “death-certified” jury and use a bifurcated trial process.
A bifurcated trial uses two forks of the trial: one to decide guilt or innocence and another to decide life or death. This separates the issue of guilt from the punishment and requires a second trial on the issue of life or death.
Jurors who participate in a death penalty decision often need to be questioned to make sure that they can rule for the death penalty if sufficient evidence exists for it. This often makes jury selection more time-consuming and will rule out many potentially sympathetic jurors.
However, a jury cannot elect the death penalty if even one juror decides against it – it has to be absolutely unanimous. The guilt/innocence stage also needs all 12 jurors to be in agreement, whereas other felony crimes can sometimes use a panel of 8 jurors.
Defenses that Avoid the Death Penalty in Utah
If you are on trial for aggravated murder, you may be able to get the case declared murder instead as part of the jury’s findings. Usually, this means alleging that you had some kind of legal defense – such as self-defense – but you were legally mistaken about the need for self-defense. In these cases, a guilty verdict is entered as a guilty verdict for murder instead of aggravated murder, avoiding the possibility of the death penalty. You may also be able to negotiate with the prosecution and plead guilty to murder – potentially involving life in prison – to avoid aggravated murder charges, but this is not available in every case.
The death penalty also is not available if the defendant was under 18 when they committed the murder.
Call Our Murder Defense Lawyers in Utah Today
Contact Overson Law’s Utah murder and manslaughter defense lawyers at (801) 758-2287 for a free case assessment.
