The "Most Deserving" of death: The narrowing requirement and the proliferation of aggravating factors in capital sentencing statutes

Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review

Volumn 46, Issue 1, 2011, Pages 223-251

  Sharon, Chelsea Creo ^a  

^a HARVARD LAW SCHOOL   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84860135312     PISSN: 00178039     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (98)

1. Samuel R. Gross & Robert Mauro, Patterns of Death: An Analysis of Racial Disparities in Capital Sentencing and Homicide Victimization, 37 STAN. L. REV. 27, 29 (1984) (describing death sentences as "highly uncommon events").
2. Alex Kozinski & Sean Gallagher, Death: The Ultimate Run-On Sentence, 46 CASE W. RES. L. REV. 1, 3 (1995).
3. Death Sentences By Year: 1977-2008, DEATH PENALTY INFO. CTR., http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-sentences-year-1977-2008 (last visited Aug. 22, 2010).
4. Death Sentences in the United States from 1977 to 2008, DEATH PENALTY INFO. CTR., http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-sentences-united-states-1977- 2008 (last visited Aug. 22, 2010).
5. James S. Liebman & Lawrence C. Marshall, Less is Better: Justice Stevens and the Narrowed Death Penalty, 74 FORDHAM L. REV. 1607, 1614 (2006).
6. Randall K. Packer, Struck by Lightning: The Elevation of Procedural Form over Substantive Rationality in Capital Sentencing Proceedings, 20 N.Y.U. REV. L. & SOC. CHANGE 641, 642 (1994).
7. Carol S. Steiker & Jordan M. Steiker, Sober Second Thoughts: Reflections on Two Decades of Constitutional Regulation of Capital Punishment, 109 HARV. L. REV. 355, 372 (1995).
8. Bruce S. Ledewitz, The New Role of Statutory Aggravating Circumstances in American Death Penalty Law, 22 DUQ. L. REV. 317, 351 (1984).
9. Richard A. Rosen, Felony Murder and the Eighth Amendment Jurisprudence of Death, 31 B.C. L. REV. 1103, 1125 (1990).
10. Katherine Barnes, David Sloss & Stephen Thaman, Place Matters (Most): An Empirical Study of Prosecutorial Decision-Making in Death-Eligible Cases, 51 ARIZ. L. REV. 305, 321 (2009).
11. Steven F. Shatz, The Eighth Amendment, the Death Penalty, and Ordinary Robbery-Burglary Murderers: A California Case Study, 59 FLA. L. REV. 719, 749 (2007).
12. Steven F. Shatz & Nina Rivkind, The California Death Penalty Scheme: Requiem for Furman?, 72 N.Y.U. L. REV. 1283, 1289 (1997).
13. David McCord, Should Commission of a Contemporaneous Arson, Burglary, Kidnapping, Rape, or Robbery Be Sufficient to Make a Murderer Eligible for a Death Sentence?-An Empirical and Normative Analysis, 49 SANTA CLARA L. REV. 1, 3-4 (2009).
14. Lowenfield v. Phelps, 484 U.S. 231, 246 (1988).
15. Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 609 (2002).
16. Tuilaepa v. California, 512 U.S. 967, 971-72 (1994) (using this terminology).
17. THE PRESIDENT'S COMM'N ON LAW ENFORCEMENT & ADMIN. OF JUSTICE, THE CHALLENGE OF CRIME IN A FREE SOCIETY 143 (1967)).
18. Jonathan Simon & Christina Spaulding, Tokens of Our Esteem: Aggravating Factors in the Era of Deregulated Death Penalties, in THE KILLING STATE: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN LAW, POLITICS, AND CULTURE 81, 83 (Austin Sarat ed., 1999).
19. Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 659 (1990).
20. Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 (1976), .
21. Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262 (1976), approved variations on the "guided discretion" schemes addressed in Gregg.
22. Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280 (1976), .
23. Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S. 325 (1976), invalidated mandatory death-sentencing schemes.
24. Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551, 568 (2005).
25. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 608 (1978).
26. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 319-20 (1989).
27. Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 303-04 (1976).
28. Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 661 (1990) (Scalia, J., concurring).
29. McGautha v. California, 402 U.S. 183 (1971) (No. 71-203))).
30. Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238, 313 (1972) (White, J., concurring).
31. Kennedy v. Louisiana, 128 S. Ct. 2641, 2659 (2008).
32. Callins v. Collins, 510 U.S. 1141, 1152 (1994).
33. Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862, 878 (1983).
34. Jeffrey Fagan, Franklin E. Zimring & Amanda Geller, Capital Punishment and Capital Murder: Market Share and the Deterrent Effects of the Death Penalty, 84 TEX. L. REV. 1803, 1815 (2006).
35. Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, Casting a Wider Net: Another Decade of Legislative Expansion of the Death Penalty in the United States, 34 PEPP. L. REV. 1, 25 (2006).
36. Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier, Aggravating and Mitigating Factors: The Paradox of Today's Arbitrary and Mandatory Capital Punishment Scheme, 6 WM. & MARY BILL RTS. J. 345, 397-99 (1998).
37. Robert Blecker, Among Killers, Searching for the Worst of the Worst, WASH. POST, Dec. 3, 2000, at B1.
38. REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR'S COMMISSION ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT 23-24 (2002), available at http://www.idoc.state.il.us/ccp/ccp/reports/commission-report/ summary-recommendations.pdf.
39. MASS. GOVERNOR'S COUNCIL ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, FINAL REPORT 6-12 (2004), available at http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/docs/5-3- 04Governorsreportcapitalpunishment.pdf [hereinafter Massachusetts Report.
40. David C. Baldus, George Woodworth & Charles A. Pulaski, Jr., EQUAL JUSTICE AND THE DEATH PENALTY: A LEGAL AND EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS 268 n.31 (1990).
41. Steven Shatz, SUMMARY OF TESTIMONY AT THE PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF THE DEATH PENALTY 1 (2008), available at http://www.ccfaj.org/ documents/reports/dp/expert/Shatz%20Testimony.pdf [hereinafter Testimony of Steven Shatz].
42. STATE OF CAL., VOTER'S PAMPHLET 34 (1978)).
43. Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420, 428-33 (1980). However, these limiting constructions are often themselves notoriously vague.
44. Richard Rosen, The "Especially Heinous" Aggravating Circumstance in Capital Cases- The Standardless Standard, 64 N.C. L. REV. 941, 968 (1986).
45. David C. Baldus, Charles A. Pulaski Jr. & George Woodworth, Arbitrariness and Discrimination in the Administration of the Death Penalty: A Challenge to State Supreme Courts, 15 STETSON L. REV. 133, 138 n.14 (1986) (collecting studies).
46. People v. Ballard, 794 N.E.2d 788, 826 (Ill. 2002).
47. Garth A. Osterman & Colleen Wilcox Heidenreich, Lying in Wait: A General Circumstance, 30 U.S.F. L. REV. 1249, 1275 (1996).
48. Morales v. Woodford, 388 F.3d 1159, 1185 (9th Cir. 2004).
49. Florida Governor OKs Tough Child Molester Bill, MSNBC.COM (May 2, 2005), http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7712095/.
50. Gen. Assem., Regular Session Senate Transcript, May 15, 2001, at 44 (statement of Sen. Petka), available at http://www.ilga.gov/senate/transcripts/ strans92/ST051501.pdf.
51. Conn. Gen. Assem., House of Representatives Transcript for May 24, 2001 (statement of Rep. Boughton), available at http://search.cga.state.ct.us/ dtSearch-lpa.html(search for "conservation" in year 2001 within "transcripts, house and senate"; then follow the hyperlink for the May 24, 2001 House Transcript).
52. SCOTT TUROW, ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT: A LAWYER'S REFLECTIONS ON DEALING WITH THE DEATH PENALTY 114 (2003).
53. Raymond Paternoster et al., Justice by Geography and Race: The Administration of the Death Penalty in Maryland, 1978-1999, 4 MARGINS 1, 20 (2004).
54. John H. Blume et al., When Lightning Strikes Back: South Carolina's Return to the Unconstitutional, Standardless Capital Sentencing Regime of the Pre-Furman Era, 4 CHARLESTON L. REV. 479, 499-500 (2010).
55. United States v. Cheely, 36 F.3d 1439, 1445 (9th Cir. 1994).
56. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 355 (1987).
57. Michael J. Songer & Isaac Unah, The Effect of Race, Gender, and Location on Prosecutorial Decisions to Seek the Death Penalty in South Carolina, 58 S.C. L. REV. 161, 164 (2006) (same).
58. Arave v. Creech, 507 U.S. 463, 475-78 (1993).
59. Walton v. Arizona, 497 U.S. 639, 694-97 (1990).
60. People v. Brown, 661 N.E.2d 287, 303 (Ill. 1996).
61. Montoya v. Wong, No. CIV S-06-2082-FCD-CMK-P, 2009 WL 2781024 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2009).
62. People v. Ballard, 794 N.E.2d 788 (Ill. 2002).
63. State v. Steckel, 708 A.2d 994 (Del. Super. Ct. 1996), aff'd 711 A.2d 5 (Del. 1998).
64. People v. Crittenden, 885 P.2d 887 (Cal. 1994).
65. State v. Young, 853 P.2d 327 (Utah 1993).
66. State v. Wagner, 752 P.2d 1136 (Or. 1988). The Supreme Court has never been presented with such a challenge.
67. Karis v. Calderon, 283 F.3d 1117, 1141 n.11 (9th Cir. 2002).
68. Morales v. Woodford, 388 F.3d 1159, 1176 (9th Cir. 2004).
69. State v. Wagner, 752 P.2d 1136, 1157-58 (Or. 1988).
70. State v. Steckel, 708 A.2d 994, 1000 (Del. Super. Ct. 1996).
71. People v. Ballard, 794 N.E.2d 788, 818 (Ill. 2002).
72. Steckel v. State, 711 A.2d 5, 13 (Del. 1998).
73. Montoya v. Wong, No. CIV S-06-2082-FCD-CMK-P, 2009 WL 2781024, at *21 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2009).
74. People v. Herrera, No. B189842, 2007 WL 1429524, at *10 (Cal. Ct. App. May 16, 2007).
75. Ayala v. Ayers, No. 01cv1322-IEG(PCL), 2007 WL 2019538, at *11-12 (S.D. Cal. July 9, 2007).
76. Sanders v. Woodford, No. Civ. F-92-5471-RECP, 2001 WL 34882452, at *45 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 24, 2001), .
77. Brown v. Sanders, 546 U.S. 212 (2006).
78. Hall v. Bell, Slip Op., No. 2:06-CV-56, 2010 WL 908933 (E.D. Tenn. Mar. 12, 2010).
79. Stephen B. Bright, Counsel for the Poor: The Death Sentence Not for the Worst Crime but for the Worst Lawyer, 103 YALE L.J. 1835, 1850 (1994).
80. Frye v. Goughnour, No. CIV. S-99-628 LKK/JFM (E.D. Cal. July 27, 2004).
81. Riel v. Goughnour, No. CIV. S-01-507 LKK/KJM (E.D. Cal. July 27, 2004).
82. Ashmus v. Wong, No. C 93-0594 TEH (N.D. Cal. Jan. 28, 2010).
83. People v. Wader, 854 P.2d 80, 114 (Cal. 1993).
84. United States v. Cheely, 36 F.3d 1439, 1443 (9th Cir. 2009).
85. Wade v. Calderon, 29 F.3d 1312, 1320 (9th Cir. 1994) (.
86. Gates v. Woodford, 334 F.3d 803, 815 (9th Cir. 2003).
87. State v. Middlebrooks, 840 S.W.2d 317, 345 (Tenn. 1992).
88. People v. Hale, 661 N.Y.S.2d 457, 466 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1997).
89. United States v. Caro, 597 F.3d 608, 637 (4th Cir. 2010).
90. Morales v. Woodford, 388 F.3d 1159, 1188 (9th Cir. 2004).
91. Randall L. Kennedy, McCleskey v. Kemp: Race, Capital Punishment, and the Supreme Court, 101 HARV. L. REV. 1388, 1431-33 (1988).
92. Stephen B. Bright, Political Attacks on the Judiciary: Can Justice Be Done Amid Efforts to Intimidate and Remove Judges from Office for Unpopular Decisions?, 72 N.Y.U. L. REV. 308, 314 (1997).
93. Frye v. Goughnour, No. CIV S-99-0628 LKK JFM (E.D. Cal. Mar. 22, 2004).
94. David S. Baime, Comparative Proportionality Review: The New Jersey Experience, 41 NO. 2 CRIM. L. BULL. 6 (2005).
95. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279, 367 (1987).
96. Glenn L. Pierce & Michael L. Radelet, Race, Region, and Death Sentencing in Illinois, 1988-1997, 81 OR. L. REV. 39, 82 tbl.5 (2002).
97. H. Mitchell Caldwell & Daryl Fisher-Ogden, Stalking the Jets and the Sharks: Exploring the Constitutionality of the Gang Death Penalty Enhancer, 12 GEO. MASON L. REV 601, 603 n.15.
98. Callins v. Collins, 510 U.S. 1141, 1144 (1994).