The Fight for Justice Starts with Blocking Judges who are "Tough on Crime"
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
11-13-2024
Publisher
Public Books
Language
en-US
Abstract
Despite intense opposition, Carnes, like Justice Thomas, was ultimately confirmed. He went on to serve nearly three decades before retiring in June 2020. Over those 28 years, he largely voted as one might expect a former prosecutor would in criminal cases. In 2012, Carnes wrote an opinion upholding the death sentence of Robert Holsey, an indigent Black man who killed a sheriff’s deputy. Holsey’s court-appointed lawyer drank a quart of vodka every night during the trial and failed to introduce evidence that Holsey struggled with an intellectual disability and had been abused by his own mother. Over sharp dissent from a colleague—that omitting this “horrific” evidence denied Holsey competent representation—Judge Carnes refused to order a new trial, saying that having a sober lawyer would not have made a difference. Holsey was executed by the state of Georgia in December 2014. Carnes continued to make it easier for people to be put to death, even when confronted with evidence of unequal justice and with the condemnation of his colleagues.
Over the years, federal judges have played a major role in facilitating War on Crime policies. The story of how Carnes became a judge offers crucial lessons for those who hope to unwind the policies of mass incarceration.
Recommended Citation
Robert L. Tsai,
The Fight for Justice Starts with Blocking Judges who are "Tough on Crime"
,
in
Public Books
(2024).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/shorter_works/254
Publisher URL
https://www.publicbooks.org/the-fight-for-justice-starts-with-blocking-judges-who-are-tough-on-crime/
