In June 2000, Columbia University professors James S. Liebman and Jeffrey Fagan, and researcher Valerie West released the landmark study, " A Broken System, Error Rates in Capital Cases 1973-1995." The report found that 68% of all death verdicts imposed and fully reviewed during the 1973-1995 study period were reversed by the courts due to serious, reversible error. This study had enormous impact on the death penalty debate amidst heightened national concern by Congress, state legislatures, the public - even the Supreme Court - about the reliability of the capital punishment system.