The Supreme Court issued a number of significant death penalty decisions today:
Benjamin Ritchie v. State of Indiana (5/25/04 IndSCt) [Criminal Law & Procedure; Constitutional Law]
Boehm, Justice
Christopher M. Helsey v. State of Indiana (5/25/04 IndSCt) [Criminal Law & Procedure; Constitutional Law]
Dickson, Justice
Phillip A. Stroud v. State of Indiana (5/25/04 IndSCt) [Criminal Law & Procedure; Constitutional Law]
Dickson, Justice
State of Indiana v. Charles E. Barker (5/25/04 IndSCt) [Criminal Law & Procedure; Constitutional Law]
Dickson, Justice
State of Indiana v. Chijoike Bomani Ben-Yisrayl (5/25/04 IndSCt) [Criminal Law & Procedure; Constitutional Law]
Dickson, Justice
[Update 5/26/04] The Indianapolis Star has a brief item this morning on the last two opinions listed above -- Charles E. Barker and Chijoike Bomani Ben-Yisrayl. Some quotes:
Last year, Marion Superior Judge Grant W. Hawkins ruled that prosecutors couldn't seek the death penalty against convicted killers Charles E. Barker and Chijoike Bomani Ben-Yisrayl, then known as Greagree Davis. This was the second time Hawkins ruled the death penalty unconstitutional, and Tuesday marked the second time the Supreme Court has reversed him.WNDU-TV has a brief story on the Philip Stroud decision, including:
The Indiana Supreme Court today vacated Stroud’s death sentence. The court ruled the jury was given conflicting instructions during the penalty phase of Stroud’s trial. The ruling sends the case back to the trial court judge for re-sentencing. Nonetheless, Stroud’s murder and burglary convictions were upheld by the high court.The Indianapolis Star had a very brief story about the Benjamin Ritchie ruling:
Convicted cop-killer Benjamin Ritchie will stay on Death Row after the Indiana Supreme Court rejected his appeal Tuesday. Ritchie was sentenced to death in October 2002 for the shooting death of Beech Grove police officer William Toney. On appeal, Ritchie's attorneys unsuccessfully argued on 10 issues -- including that the death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment.Finally, referencing both the Darnell Williams decision last week (see this entry) and the Ben-Yisrayl decision (above), the Munster Times has an editorial today urging Indiana "to take another look at how it is administered in the state, following the example set by Illinois." Posted by Marcia Oddi at May 25, 2004 01:53 PM