An Analysis of Death Penalty Decisions from the October 2006 Supreme Court Term

Abstract

The Supreme Court's death penalty jurisprudence over the last six years reflects the Court's increasing concerns about the imposition of the sentence of death. The Court has barred the death penalty for persons who were under eighteen years of age at the time of the murder, overturned death sentences based on racial bias and jury selection, reversed death sentences based on incompetence of defense counsel and flawed instructions from the judge to the jury. This context frames this Article's discussion of the death penalty decisions from the October 2006 Term.

Keywords: Klein, death penalty, Supreme Court, Uttecht, penalty phase, Texas, Abdul-Kabir, Brewer, Smith, Panetti