Messer v. Zant
Headline: Court denied a condemned prisoner's request to block execution and refused review, leaving the death sentence in place despite a dissent arguing counsel was ineffective.
Holding: The Court denied a stay of execution and refused review, leaving the condemned person’s death sentence intact while two Justices dissented, arguing counsel’s sentencing performance met the ineffective-assistance standard.
- Leaves the condemned person’s death sentence in place after denial of stay and review.
- Highlights a dissent claiming ineffective counsel during the sentencing phase.
- Shows two Justices would have vacated the death sentence and granted review.
Summary
Background
A person sentenced to death asked the Justices to block the execution and to review the case. The application for a stay of execution was first presented to Justice Kennedy, referred to the full Court, and denied; the Court also denied review of the case.
Reasoning
The central question before the Justices was whether to pause the execution and take the case for review. The Court declined both requests in the order that appears in the opinion text. The opinion does not supply a majority explanation in the provided excerpt. Justice Marshall, joined by Justice Brennan, dissented and said he would have granted the stay and the petition for review and would have vacated the death sentence.
Real world impact
As described in the opinion text, the immediate effect is that the existing death sentence remains in place because the Court refused the stay and denied review. The dissenting opinion raises a specific concern that the defendant’s lawyer performed so poorly during sentencing that the legal standard for ineffective assistance was met, which—if accepted—would have led to vacating the sentence.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Marshall wrote the dissent, reiterating his view that the death penalty is always cruel and unusual and noting that, under Strickland v. Washington, the defendant showed ineffective assistance of counsel during sentencing; he would have vacated the sentence and granted review.
Opinions in this case:
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