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''Kansas v. Marsh'', 548 U.S. 163 (2006), is a
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case in which the Court held that a
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
death penalty statute was consistent with the United States Constitution. The statute in question provided for a death sentence when the aggravating factors and mitigating factors were of equal weight.''The Supreme Court, 2005 Term — Leading Cases,''
120 Harv. L. Rev. 144 (2006).


Background

Michael Lee Marsh II was convicted of murder. The Kansas capital punishment statute allowed for the imposition of the death penalty if the mitigating and aggravating factors were of equal weight, so Marsh was sentenced to death. After Marsh's sentencing, the
Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as the st ...
in ''State v Kleypas,'' declared the law unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment and overturned it. Ruling that "fundamental fairness requires that a 'tie goes to the defendant' when life or death is at issue".


Judgement

By a 5–4 vote, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Kansas Supreme Court's decision and upheld the Kansas death penalty statute. Justice Souter as well as Justices Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer dissented from the majority, with Justice Souter calling the Kansas death penalty statute "morally absurd", "a moral irrationality" and "obtuse by any moral or social measure". Justice Scalia criticised the dissenting opinion, claiming that the dissenting justices failed to cite a case in which it is clear that an individual was executed for a crime they did not commit:


Criticism

Justice Scalia's concurrence has been criticised for describing a criminal justice system "unfamiliar to anyone who has ever covered a murder case, read a book about one, or watched television news".


See also

*
List of United States Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment The U.S. Supreme Court has issued numerous rulings on the use of capital punishment (the death penalty). While some rulings applied very narrowly, perhaps to only one individual, other cases have had great influence over wide areas of procedure, el ...


References


External links

* United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause and death penalty case law Capital punishment in Kansas 2006 in United States case law {{SCOTUS-case-stub