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Criminal Law

: Capital Defense Weekly

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By Karl R. Keys, Esq.

from this week’s edition: Leading off this week is the South Dakota Supreme Court’s opinion in  Briley Piper v. Weber.  Mr. Piper was tried to the bench in the penalty phase. Prior to the bench trial the trial court misinformed Mr. Piper about South Dakota’s unanimity requirement.  Specifically, the Court informed Mr. Piper that all 12 jurors would have to agree on a sentence of life despite state law which requires a life sentence if even a single juror voted for life.  ”Consequently, without an adequate explanation by the judge that one juror could, in effect, choose life, Piper’s waiver of a jury trial on the death penalty cannot be considered knowing or voluntary.” In trial news, jurors in just 40 minutes decided that Myron Britt did not deserve the death penalty for the 2003 murder of his wife in North Carolina...continue to full post

Full post as published by Capital Defense Weekly on August 03, 2009 (boomark / email).