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Court tosses out 100 death sentences
« on: Sep 2nd, 2003, 5:25pm » |
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Court tosses out 100 death sentences
Arizona, Idaho and Montana cases involved
From Bill Mears
CNN Washington Bureau
Tuesday, September 2, 2003 Posted: 5:15 PM EDT (2115 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Citing a 2002 Supreme Court ruling that only juries can impose the death penalty, a federal appeals court Tuesday overturned about 100 death sentences imposed by judges in Arizona, Idaho and Montana.
In an 8-3 vote, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said inmates sent to death row by judges should have their sentences commuted to life in prison.
The ruling covers similar cases in states within the appeals court's jurisdiction: Arizona, Idaho, and Montana. Those three states all execute prisoners by lethal injection.
Colorado and Nebraska have similar laws, but Tuesday's ruling is not likely to immediately affect cases in those states.
In the ruling, Judge Sidney Thomas wrote for the majority that: "By deciding that judges are not constitutionally permitted to decide whether defendants are eligible for the death penalty, the Supreme Court altered the fundamental bedrock principles applicable to capital murder trials."
An appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is likely.
The case involves Warren Summerlin, who was convicted in 1981 of murdering Brenna Bailey, a 36-year finance company administrator who had come to his house to discuss money owed on a loan. After a jury had convicted Summerlin of murder, a judge then sentenced Summerlin to death, citing "aggravating" factors.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 2002 found the practice of judges sentencing inmates in capital cases to be unconstitutional. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the 7-2 majority that: "Arizona presents no specific reason for excepting capital defendants from the constitutional protections extended to defendants generally, and none is readily apparent."
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