In mid-June, the Supreme Court of the United States completed its October 2007 Term. There were three cases decided this term that are particular interest to abolitionists. Ultimately, the Term was a mixed bag, with one bitter disappointment, but also marked by two cases that give us reason to hope.
The bad news: The national moritorium that followed the cert grant in Baze, the case challenging the constitutionality of lethal injection protocols, was abruptly ended when the Court held that the method of lethal injection at issue in the case did not present a sufficient risk of pain and suffering. Some states are still involved in contests about their particular methods of killing, but for those of us who saw this case as a possible vehicle for complete abolition, we must chalk this up as another missed opportunity.
The good news: The Court cited to the "evolving standards of decency" that govern a maturing society and struck down Louisiana's death penalty for the crime of child rape. Thus, we can add that case, Kennedy, to the list of absolute prohibitions to the death penalty which includes: those convicted of rape of an adult, offenders who are mentally retarded, and children.
The hopeful news: Snyder’s trial—before an all-white jury in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana—occurred less than a year after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder. Despite assuring the trial judge that he would not refer to Simpson before the jury, the prosecutor compared Snyder’s conduct to that of the defendant in "[t]he most famous murder case" that all the jurors "have heard about," noting that the"perpetrator" in that case"got away with it."
At Snyder’s jury selection, lawyers questioned 85 potential jurors. In a jurisdiction that is 20 percent African American, only nine potential jurors were African American. Four were dismissed for cause and the prosecutor used his peremptory challenges to strike the rest, forming the basis of Snyder’s appeal. The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld Snyder’s conviction against a claim that the prosecutor had exercised his challenges in a discriminatory manner—violating Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits race discrimination in the selection of trial juries.
Batson instead is based the broad principle, that striking jurors based on race deprives not only defendants but also those jurors of a fair, nondiscriminatory jury system. Snyder will hopefully provide lower courts with the courage to enforce fairness. Protecting capital defendants protects us all.
