Many lawyers failed to thoroughly argue their clients' cases. In 22 of the 131 cases, no witnesses were called by the defense during the sentencing phase, when the decision to administer the death penalty is made. In an additional 18 cases, only one witness was called. It is generally the poor who suffer most from incompetent defense. Unable to pay for their own attorney, they are often assigned inexperienced lawyers who have neither the time nor the desire to research their case.
Local judges assign the court-appointed lawyers.
These judges have been criticized for selecting defense counsel based on personal relations and expediency, rather than the quality of the lawyer. The overloaded judges are often more interested in getting the trial over with than in determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The report gives a number of examples of inadequate defense. One Texas attorney, Joe Cannon, was the court-appointed lawyer for three persons executed under Bush. Though Cannon was never sanctioned, he was notorious for sleeping through trials and speeding through cases in order to please judges.