In Lynch v.
Arizona, No. 15-8366, the Supreme Court reversed a death sentence in an
unsigned opinion, saying the jury had not been told an important fact: that the
only alternative to a death sentence was life without the possibility of parole,
reported the New York Times.
The case concerned Shawn P. Lynch, who was convicted of the
2001 kidnapping and killing of James Panzarella, whom he met at a bar in
Scottsdale, Ariz. Prosecutors argued that the death penalty was warranted
because Mr. Lynch posed a risk of future dangerousness. But they blocked
defense lawyers from telling the jury that the only alternative sentence would
have kept Mr. Lynch in prison for life.
The Supreme Court ruled that a 1994
decision required the judge to tell the jury about the alternative or
let defense lawyers do so. The unsigned opinion rejected the state’s argument
that such statements were not required because executive clemency remained
available and because the state Legislature may someday allow parole.
In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice
Samuel A. Alito Jr., said the 1994 decision was wrong. Justice Thomas accused
the majority of micromanaging state sentencing procedures and imposing “a
magic-words requirement.”
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