I’ll go so far as to call this shocking. As seen in the New York Times, a man was almost put to death due to a mix up in the mail room at the law firm represnting him on his appeal.
Here is the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the case.
Reasonable minds can disagree over the use of the death penalty in our country. However it’s hard to argue that an inmate should be denied his full due process rights due to a simple clerical error.
Currently, the death penalty is not in use here in New York State, pursuant to the 2004 Court of Appeals decision in People v. LaValle.