Ninety-five percent of defendants charged with capital crimes are indigent and cannot afford their own attorney to represent them. They are forced to use inexperienced, underpaid court-appointed attorneys.
US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg said she has "never seen a death penalty case on appeal before this court in which the defendant was well represented at trial."
Some defendants in capital cases have been represented by attorneys who were drunk or sleeping during the trial. George McFarland, sentenced to death in 1992, was represented by an attorney who admitted sleeping during parts of the trial: "I'm 72 years old. I customarily take a short nap in the afternoon." The trial judge commented that: "The Constitution says everyone's entitled to the attorney of their choice. The Constitution does not say the lawyer has to be awake." (Excerpted from Amnesty International)