S P E C I A L : Supreme Court: 1997-1998 Session Supreme Court warns Texas about death sentencing rules
October 21, 1997
Web posted at: 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT)WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In an extraordinary warning, four Supreme Court justices have told Texas officials their rules in death penalty sentencing may be unfair to some convicted killers.
Texas juries are required to assess the "future dangerousness" of a capital case defendant before sentencing him to death, Justice John Paul Stevens said, but the defendant is not allowed to tell the jury when he would be eligible for parole if he were sentenced to life.
Three other justices joined Stevens' opinion on Monday. But the four did not vote to hear an appeal by Texas death row inmate Arthur Brown Jr., convicted of four drug-related murders in Houston five years ago. Brown was not allowed to tell a jury that if sentenced to life imprisonment, he would have to serve 35 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
The Supreme Court justices declined to disturb an appeals court ruling upholding his death sentence. Stevens said their purpose was to drive home the point that the court doesn't always grant review even when it thinks a lower court was wrong.
Texas has become the nation's far-and-away leader in executions, with 31 this year of the nationwide total of 59.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
- Message Board: Death penalty
Related stories:
- Texas executes 25th inmate this year - July 30, 1997
- Texas setting record pace for executions - June 17, 1997
- Texas gears up for flood of executions - April 4, 1997
- Execution figures highest in 4 years - December 4, 1996
Related sites:
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- A lethal reputation - The Dallas Morning News: July 23, 1997
- Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP)
- Justice For All
- Amnesty International, Austin, Texas
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Supreme Court:
1997-1998 Session
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