Another big circuit discussion of Bible-influenced capital sentencing
Addressing en banc an issue that arises frequently in lower courts, the Ninth Circuit today upheld a death sentence in Fields v. Brown, No. 00-99005 (9th Cir. Sept. 10, 2007) (available here), despite the jury’s consideration of biblical passages while deciding upon the defendant’s penalty. The length opinions in Fields all make for interesting reading, but you will need almost 100 pages in your printer if you want a hard-copy of the Ninth Circuit’s en banc work.
As detailed in posts linked below, lower courts have split over the consequences of juror consideration of biblical passages during the penalty phase of a capital trial. It will thus be interesting to see if Fields might get Supreme Court attention. If it does, the defendant might set a modern record for the length of capital appeals: his death sentence was imposed in 1979 and thus his appeals have occupied state and federal courts now for 28 years.
Some related prior posts: