Social Work Expert Testimony Regarding Mitigation in Capital Sentencing Proceedings

Abstract

SINCE 1978, the U.S. Supreme ourt has required that in d ath penalty trials the defense be permitted to present any aspect of a defendant's character that might warrant a punish ment less than death (Lockett v. Ohio, 1978). In a long series of decisions, the Court ruled that the death penalty can be imposed only after the sentencer, whether judge or jury, has had an oppor tunity to consider the unique, individual attributes of the defendant (.Furman v. Georgia, 1972; Gregg v. Georgia, 1976; Lockett v. Ohio, 1978; Penry v. Lynaugh, 1989; Profitt v. Florida, 1976). Any of the diverse frailties of humankind con stitute mitigating factors as a matter of law in deciding whether death or life im prisonment is the appropriate punish ment {Woodson v. North Carolina, 1976). Although the critical significance of the social evaluation in sentence mitiga tion has been recognized for more than a decade by courts, the social work literature has been relatively silent about this emerging practice area. So cial workers have increasingly been recognized by courts as expert wit nesses in a variety of proceedings (Gothard, 1989); this article examines the unique aspects of capital sentence proceedings and describes the role of the social worker as expert witness and the influence of the social evaluation on sentence mitigation.