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1 1 (August 17, 2005)

handle is hein.crs/crsaizi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS22224 August 17, 2005 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Capital Punishment: Selected Opinions of Justice O'Connor Alison M. Smith Legislative Attorney American Law Division Summary An examination of Justice O'Connor's opinions on capital punishment reveals a case-by-case approach showing a general support for the death penalty's constitutionality. However, the opinions also reveal a careful review of the administration of the death penalty by the States. Justice O'Connor's evolving skepticism about capital punishment has played a significant role in many key decisions regarding the death penalty throughout her twenty-four years on the United States Supreme Court. This report briefly surveys selected decisions of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in death penalty cases, an area where her opinions have frequently determined the outcome. This report will not be updated. Justice O'Connor provided the swing vote in many key capital punishment cases, and her pending departure may have a significant impact on the Court's death penalty jurisprudence in the coming years. Justice O'Connor's skepticism about the States' imposition of capital punishment swayed the Court's 2002 vote prohibiting the execution of killers with mental retardation. She has also ruled in favor of defendants alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Categories of Killers Who Cannot Be Executed In a series of cases, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Eighth Amendment bars execution of certain categories of offenders. The test is whether the death penalty in those categories is cruel and unusual punishment, measured against the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.' In Penry v. 1 Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 3000-31 (1989). The Court considers whether there is a national consensus against executions in a particular category by looking at State legislation, public opinion polls, and the actions of sentencing juries. The Court also asks whether the death penalty applied to the particular category of offenders serves the goals of deterrence and retribution. In 2002, Justice O'Connor silently joined the opinion of the Court overruling Lynaugh and holding that a national consensus existed that the execution of the mentally retarded (continued...) Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress