NCJ Number
104971
Journal
Fordham Urban Law Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 3 Dated: (1984-1985) Pages: 597-638
Date Published
1985
Length
42 pages
Annotation
The New York State Legislature should draft a discretionary death penalty statute for life-term inmates who commit murder, since a mandatory death sentence for such an offense would be unconstitutional in not allowing for individualized consideration of the offender and the offense.
Abstract
Since 1976 the U.S. Supreme Court has provided guidelines for a constitutionally valid death penalty statute, emphasizing the need for a consideration of mitigating and aggravating factors relevant to the individual offender and offense. In People v. Smith (1984), the New York State Court of Appeals struck down New York's mandatory death penalty statute for life-term inmates who commit murder, based on U.S. Supreme Court guidelines. Both proponents and opponents of the death penalty, however, have offered a variety of moral, penological, and sociological arguments which explore issues beyond the constitutionality of death penalty statutes. These issues were not considered in depth by the New York State Court of Appeals, which focused on decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and other Federal and State courts. After reviewing both legal and nonlegal arguments, this article concludes there should not be a mandatory death penalty for life-term inmates who commit murder in New York. Such a statute is unconstitutional because it does not allow for consideration of particular factors in the offense and the offender. It is also unreasonably discriminatory toward this class of defendants. 302 footnotes.