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"Supreme Court mandates 'dignity and respect' in death sentencing"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this this post is the headline of this Washington Post article yesterday's SCOTUS split decision in Wellons v. Hall (09-5731) (available here).  The headline draws on what I thought was the only notable quotable from the majority's per curiam ruling, and here are excerpts from the story:  "From beginning to end," the Supreme Court intoned Tuesday, "judicial proceedings conducted for the purpose of deciding whether a defendant shall be put to death must be conducted with dignity and respect." And so a majority of the court decided that a trial in which jurors presented the judge with an "edible chocolate penis" and the bailiff with a pair of chocolate breasts deserved a closer look.  It told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to examine more closely the trial in which Marcus Wellons received the death penalty for the rape and murder of 15-year-old India Roberts in suburban Atlanta in 1989...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 20, 2010 (boomark / email).