Reply #6: Not quite right. [View All]

"A death-qualified jury is a jury in a criminal law case involving the death penalty which excludes jurors opposed to capital punishment. Creating a death-qualified jury requires striking jurors during voir dire who express opposition to the death penalty and will not set aside their personal, moral, or emotional objections. Death-qualifying a jury is believed to create a fair and impartial jury which will fairly consider both death and life in prison.

Expressing opposition to the death penalty does not automatically disqualify a juror. A party may attempt to rehabilitate the juror by asking questions about whether they would consider the death penalty. On the other hand, a juror stating that they favor the death penalty may also be excused. To rehabilitate this juror, the juror must state that they are willing to consider life in prison.

The constitutionality of a death-qualified jury has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States in Witherspoon v. Illinois, 391 U.S. 510 (1968), and Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 162 (1986). The use, however, of a death-qualified jury is not constitutionally mandated.
"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death-qualified_jury

My reading of that is that opposition causes exclusion but the defense can attempt rehabilitation. I have never heard of a juror being excluded for supporting the death penalty. I would be interested if this has ever happened.

It is all bullshit. Death qualified juries are hugely slanted in favor of conviction.