McCleskey v. Bowers

Background

Warren McCleskey, an Afro-American man on Georgia’s death row, faced execution set for September 24, 1991. He asked the Court for a temporary stay so he could file a petition for review in the Superior Court of Butts County or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. His filings raised a statistical claim that Georgia imposes death more often when victims are white and allegations that his clemency hearing was biased after the Attorney General threatened action and the board chair said there would be 'no change.'

Reasoning

The immediate question was whether to pause the execution long enough for McCleskey to seek those filings. The application for a stay, presented to Justice Kennedy and referred to the full Court, was denied. Justices Blackmun and Stevens would have granted the stay. The Court’s denial refused the requested extra time and did not grant the relief McCleskey sought in this application.

Real world impact

Because the stay was denied, McCleskey faced execution on the scheduled date without that extra time to file the petitions described. The decision leaves unresolved, at least for now, the statistical claims about racial disparities in death sentencing and the accused unfairness of his clemency process. Those directly affected are McCleskey and other people seeking more time to pursue similar claims before execution.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Marshall dissented vigorously, saying the death penalty is always cruel and unusual and that he would grant the stay, grant review, and vacate the death sentence. He highlighted the statistical evidence that defendants with white victims receive death sentences far more often, and he criticized recent decisions narrowing federal review for death-row defendants.