Justice not so blind

Paul Gregory House pinned his hopes for survival on the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati five years ago when he challenged his death sentence for rape and murder.

He won.

Two years later, House's case returned to the 6th Circuit for what amounted to a new hearing on the same issues. The only change was the addition of four conservative judges to the court.

He lost.

Same evidence. Same arguments. Different outcome.

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An Enquirer analysis of the court's death-penalty decisions since 2000 shows that 6th Circuit judges consistently voted along partisan lines, just as they did in House's case:

Judges appointed by Republican presidents voted to deny inmate appeals 85 percent of the time.

Judges appointed by Democrats voted to grant at least some portion of those appeals 75 percent of the time.

Republican appointees dissented from majority opinions 25 times, always arguing against the inmate. Democratic appointees dissented 29 times, all but once arguing for the inmate.

"That is very stark," said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit group that has been critical of capital punishment. "It makes blind justice look like part of the political system."

... That means life-and-death decisions often hinge on the luck of the draw ...