Appeals_Court_Tosses_Out_111_Death_Sentences

Appeals Court Tosses Out 111 Death Sentences The article, Appeals Court Tosses Out 111 Death Sentences, reported that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco recently overturned the death sentences of 111 inmates and said the sentences should be commuted to life in prison, in an 8-3 vote. (CNN.com. 2003.) The 9th Circuit has jurisdiction over the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii and Guam. (Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute. 2003.) Only the states of Arizona, Idaho and Montana were addressed in this ruling because these three states (along with the states of Colorado and Nebraska which are part of another Circuit) changed state-level laws to specify that only juries can impose death sentences after a 2002 Supreme Court ruling in an Arizona case. This Supreme Court ruling was from an appeal of an Arizona case, and found that the practice of judges sentencing inmates in death penalty cases was unconstitutional, because that practice violates a defendant’s constitutional protection to be tried by a jury of his peers. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote, “Arizona presents no specific reason for excepting capital defendants from the constitutional protections extended to defendants generally, and none is readily apparent.” ruling, court, supreme, death, penalty, sentences, states, judges, circuit, 9th, juries, capital, 111, whether, overturn, jury, defendants, arizona, appeals, another, prior, one, found, constitutional, cases, case, because, two, thomas, statements, should, retroactive, remain, reheard, practice