States taking steps to change death penalty laws in light of Supreme Court ruling

Jul 12, 2002

By CATHERINE TSAI, 

DENVER - With Colorado taking a leading role, some states have begun amending their death penalty laws to bring them in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ( news - web sites) ruling that said it is up to juries, not judges, to decide whether a killer should live or die.

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens on Friday signed a revised law enacted during a special session that was called primarily to take up the death penalty. Lawmakers in Arizona, where the Supreme Court case originated, plan a special session next month to take similar action.

 "Time after time when we've done what we are convinced is constitutional, we find that a court says it isn't. What I want to make sure we have is a constitutional death penalty statute, and I'm convinced that we have that at this point in time," Owens said Thursday.

 Under the new Colorado legislation, juries would have sole responsibility for deciding whether a killer should die.

 Other states with laws that could come under question have begun considering action, such as seeking a state high court ruling on the constitutionality of their laws.

 Legal analysts and death penalty opponents believe states should take quick, clear action to avoid a legal morass, not only with inmates on death row but those whom Denver defense attorney Scott Robinson calls "the gappers" � inmates sentenced after the June 24 ruling but before any change in state law.

 "I think the smarter states will do what Colorado is doing and return it to the juries," said Chris Adams, a death penalty specialist with the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

 The U.S. Supreme Court ruling directly affected laws in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Nebraska, where judges alone decide whether to impose the death penalty.

 Montana and Nebraska plan to consider changes to their laws next year.

 Nebraska Attorney General Don Stenberg ( news, bio, voting record) has told prosecutors to ask jurors to decide whether the crime merits the death penalty; then the judge could sentence a defendant based on the jury's findings.

 Idaho has taken no direct action, but a prosecutor reached a plea bargain in a murder case this week in part because of uncertainty over the law.

 The ruling could also ultimately affect Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Delaware, where juries recommend sentences but judges have the final say.

 Executions in Alabama and Florida are on hold while those states' high courts consider whether their death penalty laws are constitutional in light of the ruling.

 Even before the ruling, Indiana changed its law to require judges to follow a jury's recommendation. The previous law gave judges authority to impose the death penalty even if the jury recommended against it.

 After the ruling, Delaware late last month passed a bill that says a judge cannot sentence someone to die unless the jury unanimously decides the inmate is eligible for the death penalty. The previous law allowed judges to impose the death penalty even if the jury found no grounds for such a sentence.

 The high court ruling threw into doubt death sentences handed out to 168 killers in the five states. Among them are three inmates in Colorado. In all nine states, there are 785 inmates on death row, though not all would be affected by the court ruling.

Nationwide, about 3,700 inmates await execution in the 38 states that allow capital punishment.