Thomas v. Maryland
Headline: Court declines to hear a Maryland death-penalty appeal, leaving the death sentence in place while a dissent argues the state law wrongly forces defendants to prove mitigating factors.
Holding: The Court refused to hear the Maryland case and denied review, leaving the state-court death sentence and the Maryland sentencing statute in place.
- Leaves the individual’s Maryland death sentence unchanged.
- Maintains Maryland’s law that puts burden on defendants to show mitigation.
Summary
Background
A person sentenced to death under a Maryland law challenged that sentence and asked the Supreme Court to review the case. The Maryland Court of Appeals left the death sentence in place. Two Justices, Marshall and Brennan, filed a dissent from the Court’s refusal to hear the case, arguing the death penalty is cruel and that Maryland’s statute improperly assigns important proof requirements to defendants.
Reasoning
Justice Marshall explains two main objections. First, he says the death penalty is always cruel and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Second, even if the death penalty could sometimes be permitted, Maryland’s law is wrong because it makes the defendant prove that mitigating evidence outweighs aggravating evidence and commands death when aggravating factors are not outweighed. Marshall argues that this shifts the ultimate question to the defendant and prevents the sentencer from deciding whether death is appropriate in a particular case.
Real world impact
Because the Court refused to hear the case, the Maryland death sentence remains undisturbed and the challenged statute continues to control how judges and juries weigh aggravating and mitigating factors. The dissenting opinion shows that at least two Justices believe the statute and the use of the death penalty are unconstitutional, but that view did not change the Court’s decision here.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Marshall, joined by Justice Brennan, would have granted review and vacated the death sentence, either on the ground that the death penalty is always unconstitutional or because the Maryland statute improperly shifted the burden of proof.
Opinions in this case:
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