Indiana Trial Court Rules Death Penalty Unconstitutional

     A trial court judge in Indianapolis ruled that the state's death penalty statute was unconstitutional in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. Judge Grant W. Hawkins held that the state's statute effectively denied death row inmate Charles Barker his right to trial by jury, and dismissed the death penalty as a sentencing option at Barker's upcoming resentencing hearing.   

    Hawkins based his ruling on Apprendi v. New Jersey (530 U.S. 466 (2000)).  In Apprendi, the U.S. Supreme Court held that any fact, other than a prior conviction, that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.  

     In Indiana, the jury makes an unbinding recommendation to the judge, who sentences the defendant.  Judge Hawkins ruled that the Indiana statute violates Apprendi because it is possible that a judge could sentence an inmate to death even though a jury has failed to find, beyond a reasonable doubt, the existence of an aggravating factor. (Order on Supplemental Motion to Dismiss Death Penalty, September 10, 2001)