The Death Penalty and the Power of ‘Judicial Override’ in Alabama State Law

On 17 November 2022 in Alabama, the death penalty by poison injection was scheduled to be executed on Kenneth Smith. His case is a disturbing example of the use of judicial power (known as ‘judicial override’) in the state law of Alabama that allowed the judge, at the time of the verdict in 1996, to overturn the jury’s decision recommending the choice of life imprisonment without parole instead of the death penalty, and thus give a final death sentence. The article presented here first provides a general analysis of the provisions of the federal constitution, relevant case law and federal legislation on the death penalty, and then presents an overview of state solutions to the death penalty. The key parts of the text deal with the institution of ‘judicial override’: its genesis and practice in the state of Alabama, and the application of the relevant legislation to the Kenneth Smith case. It argues that mechanisms such as ‘judicial override’ and their consequences strengthen the narrative of those arguing against the death penalty in the social and political debate.