Supreme Court Upholds Kansas Death Penalty

The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold a Kansas death penalty law that allowed juries to vote for death if they decide that the aggravating and mitigating circumstances involved in the crime are of equal weight.

The ruling, in the case of Michael Lee Marsh, overturns a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that the law violated the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Marsh was convicted for the 1996 deaths of Marry Ane Pusch and her 19-month-old daughter, Marry Elizabeth. Pusch was shot and stabbed and her home set on fire. The child, trapped inside the house, died later of burn injuries.

In it's ruling, the majority ruled that the court should defer to the states on how they impose the death penalty. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, "our precedents establish that a state enjoys a range of discretion in imposing the death penalty."

Writing for the minority, Justice David H. Souter said the law could lead to death sentences in doubtful cases and "is obtuse by any moral or social measure."

New Justice Breaks Tie

Oral arguments in Kansas v. Marsh were heard again after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired, to give new Justice Samuel Alito the opportunity to break the 4-4 tie vote.

"Without this ruling, the decisions the juries made concerning the eight Kansas death-row inmates would be in jeopardy. I hope this will bring some closure to the families who have been waiting for this issue to be resolved," Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius told reporters.

See Also:
Splintered High Court Backs Death Penalty

More Information:
Aggravating and Mitigating Factors
The Death Penalty