Andrews v. Shulsen, Warden, Et Al.

Background

William Andrews, a Black man convicted for a role in a brutal multiple murder during a hi-fi shop robbery, was sentenced to death though evidence suggested a co-defendant played the lead role. The trial drew heavy local publicity, the only Black prospective juror was excluded, and an all-white jury was seated. During the trial a juror gave the bailiff a napkin showing a man on a gallows with the words “Hang the Niggers,” and the court gave only a general instruction to ignore such communications.

Reasoning

The core question raised by the dissent was whether federal courts should have held an evidentiary hearing to investigate serious allegations of racial prejudice affecting the trial and sentencing. The District Court refused to hold such a hearing, and the Tenth Circuit upheld that refusal. A Justice in dissent argued that the Constitution, and past decisions about juror bias and capital cases, required further inquiry and that the death sentence should be vacated. The Supreme Court, however, denied review, leaving the lower courts’ rulings and the death sentence intact.

Real world impact

The decision leaves Andrews’s death sentence in place and leaves unexamined allegations that racial animus influenced the trial or sentencing. This outcome affects capital defendants who claim racially biased juror conduct or inflammatory local coverage between guilt and penalty phases. Because the Court denied review rather than ruling on the merits, the denial is not a final ruling on the underlying fairness claims and could be revisited in future proceedings.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Marshall, joined by Justice Brennan, dissented, arguing he would have granted review and ordered the sentence vacated, stressing the need for at least an evidentiary hearing in the face of such stark racialized conduct and commentary.