Stephens v. Kemp, Superintendent, Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center

Background

A man convicted of a brutal kidnapping, robbery, and murder in Georgia in the 1970s was sentenced to death in 1975 and has pursued years of appeals in state and federal courts. He filed a federal habeas petition on November 15, 1983; the District Court dismissed it as an abuse of the process under Rule 9(b). The Court of Appeals panel agreed, and a request for rehearing en banc produced an evenly divided vote, with six judges dissenting and noting that his claim is similar to an issue then before the Eleventh Circuit in Spencer v. Zant.

Reasoning

The core question before the Justices was whether to pause an imminent execution while a related appeals court considers a similar claim about how Georgia’s death penalty is applied. The Supreme Court issued an order granting a stay of execution pending the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Spencer v. Zant or until further order. That order paused the execution but did not decide the merits of the inmate’s claims about racial discrimination or the earlier courts’ finding that he had abused the writ.

Real world impact

The immediate effect is a delay of the scheduled execution and temporary relief for the inmate; it does not overturn the conviction or sentence. The stay shows courts may hold off on carrying out a death sentence when related appeals or statistical studies are under review. This is a temporary procedural action and could change depending on the appeals court or a later order from the Supreme Court.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Powell, joined by three other Justices, dissented, arguing the inmate had abused the habeas process, that the statistical study relied on was available earlier, and that the stay was unnecessary and undermined public confidence.