States with the death penalty generally require a jury to weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances before sentencing a defendant to life imprisonment or death.
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The Delaware Supreme Court struck down the state’s death-penalty statute Tuesday, ruling that the latitude it granted to judges during the sentencing phase violated the Sixth Amendment. “Put simply, the Sixth Amendment right to a jury includes a right not to be executed unless a jury concludes unanimously that it has no reasonable doubt that is the appropriate sentence”.
In a concurring opinion joined by two other justices, Delaware Chief Justice Leo Strine laid out a lengthy history of American capital punishment and the paramount role juries played in it. A fourth justice partially concurred with the decision, arguing that some of the questions answered by the Court should have been left to the Delaware legislature. But the bottom line, they wrote, is that the “diversity of views is outweighed by the majority’s collective view that Delaware’s current death penalty statute violates the Sixth Amendment role of the jury as set forth in Hurst”. “That can not happen under Delaware’s statute”, which requires the jury to find at least one aggravating factor before proceeding, he noted.
The justice agreed, however, that any problematic provision of Delaware’s death penalty law can not be severed from its other provisions so as to allow jury instructions that would comport with federal constitutional standards.
Santino Ceccotti, a public defender who argued the case in June, says he’s pleased with the decision. A spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Justice said in an email that the agency is reviewing the decision.
Gov. Jack Markell (D), who came out in favor of abolishing capital punishment in 2015, called the concept “an instrument of imperfect justice”. “While I would have supported abolishing the death penalty legislatively, it is my hope that today’s decision will mean that we never see another death sentence in our state”.
“All pending capital murder trials and executions for the 14 men on death row are now on hold while the court considered the constitutionality issue”, according to Delaware Online.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed, but not surprised”, said Tom Brackin, president of the Delaware State Troopers Association, which lobbied heavily to defeat both recent repeal efforts.
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Ceccotti added that the ruling would require all capital offense cases now pending statewide to be prosecuted again with non-capital charges, though it was not immediately clear if the court’s ruling would be retroactive.
