<Li> In two states (Indiana and Missouri), the judge will decide the sentence . </Li> <Li> In the 22 other states, a hung jury results in a life sentence, even if only one juror opposed death . Federal law also provides that outcome . </Li> <P> The first outcome is referred as the "true unanimity" rule, while the third has been criticized as the "single - juror veto" rule . </P> <P> If a defendant is sentenced to death at the trial level, the case then goes into a direct review . The direct review process is a typical legal appeal . An appellate court examines the record of evidence presented in the trial court and the law that the lower court applied and decides whether the decision was legally sound or not . Direct review of a capital sentencing hearing will result in one of three outcomes . If the appellate court finds that no significant legal errors occurred in the capital sentencing hearing, the appellate court will affirm the judgment, or let the sentence stand . If the appellate court finds that significant legal errors did occur, then it will reverse the judgment, or nullify the sentence and order a new capital sentencing hearing . Lastly, if the appellate court finds that no reasonable juror could find the defendant eligible for the death penalty, a rarity, then it will order the defendant acquitted, or not guilty, of the crime for which he / she was given the death penalty, and order him sentenced to the next most severe punishment for which the offense is eligible . About 60 percent survive the process of direct review intact . </P>

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