Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

An SCOTUS exchange in a cert. denial concerning a long stay on death row

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this CNN report, a few Supreme Court Justices discussed the death penalty in little separate opinion response to the denial of cert in a Florida capital case.  Here are the basics: Two Supreme Court justices on opposite sides of the ideological aisle exchanged tough words Monday over the fate of a Florida murderer who has been on death row for 32 years. The high court has refused to hear the appeal of William Thompson, who had plead guilty twice in the March 1976 kidnapping and torture-murder of a woman.  His case and subsequent appeals have been litigated since, but a new execution date has not been set. A key part of his request to be spared lethal injection is that three decades as a capital inmate constitutes cruel and unusual punishment...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 09, 2009 (boomark / email).