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Walker v. Georgia

By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

The Court on Monday denied cert in Georgia v. Walker. DPIC’s summary is better than any I could have written Justice Stevens wrote:I find this case, which involves a black defendant and a white victim, particularly troubling. . . Rather than perform a thorough proportionality review to mitigate the heightened risks of arbitrariness and discrimination in this case, the Georgia Supreme Court carried out an utterly perfunctory review. Its undertaking consisted of a single paragraph, only the final sentence of which considered whether imposition of the death penalty in this case was proportionate as compared to the sentences imposed for similar offenses. … Particularly troubling is that the shortcomings of the Georgia Supreme Court?s review are not unique to this case … And the likely result of such a truncated review?particularly in conjunction with the remainder of the Georgia scheme, which does not cabin the jury?s discretion in weighing aggravating and mitigating factors?is the arbitrary or discriminatory imposition of death sentences in contravention of the Eighth Amendment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on October 20, 2008 (boomark / email).