Thompson v. Louisiana
Headline: Court refuses review of multiple death‑penalty cases, leaving state death sentences intact while two Justices dissent and would have vacated those sentences as unconstitutional.
Holding: The Court denied review of a set of state death‑penalty cases, leaving the lower courts’ death sentences intact while two Justices dissented and would have vacated them.
- Leaves multiple state death sentences in place.
- Two Justices formally object and would vacate those death sentences.
Summary
Background
A group of cases from various state high courts and federal appellate courts challenged imposed death sentences. The excerpt shows the Supreme Court declined to take up those cases and denied review, listing many state courts and several docket numbers. Two Justices registered a formal disagreement with that decision.
Reasoning
The opinion text here simply records that the Court denied review of the cases; no majority explanation is included in the excerpt. In a written dissent, two Justices — Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall — said they adhere to their long‑held view that the death penalty is always cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. They stated they would have granted review and would have vacated the death sentences in these cases.
Real world impact
Because the Court declined to review, the lower‑court death sentences remain in effect for the cases listed in this order. The practical result, based on this text, is that defendants named in those cases continue to face the death sentences imposed by lower courts. The dissent by two Justices makes clear there is not unanimity on the Court about the constitutionality of capital punishment.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall dissented from the denial of review. They urged the Court to take the cases and to vacate the death sentences on the ground that capital punishment always violates the Constitution.
Opinions in this case:
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