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Stroock Amicus Brief No. 15-946 IN THE Supreme Court of the United States LAMONDRE TUCKER, Petitioner, v. STATE OF LOUISIANA, Respondent. ON PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AND BRIEF OF AMICI CURIAE LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SCHOLARS IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER BRUCE H. SCHNEIDER Counsel of Record STEPHANIE A. WEATHERS-LOwiN STROOCK & STROOCK & LAVAN LLP 180 Maiden Lane New York, New York 10038 (212) 806-5400 [email protected] Counsel for Amici Curiae February 29, 2016 264204 A (800) 274-3321 • (800) 359-6859 i MOTION OF LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SCHOLARS FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER Amici curiae are 20 scholars of law and political science (the “Scholars”). Among them are academics who have analyzed data indicating the frequency with which death sentences are rendered and carried out, and have written scholarly articles on capital punishment. The Scholars respectfully move for leave to file a brief asAmici curiae (“Amici”) in support of the Petitioner. Counsel of record for the parties received timely notice of Amici’s intent to file this brief as required by this Court’s Rule 37.2(a). Counsel for Petitioner consented in writing to the filing of this brief, and their written consent is submitted to the Clerk’s office herewith. However, counsel for Respondent, the State of Louisiana, declined to consent to the filing of this brief, necessitating the filing of this motion. This case presents an issue of national and constitutional importance: whether the imposition of the death penalty constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Amici are respected scholars of law and political science and are thus particularly well-suited to provide insight to the Court about the dramatic decline of death sentences and executions in this country over the last 20 years, the limited geographic clustering where capital punishment persists, and the various barometers of public support that reflect the public’s stance against the death penalty. Accordingly, Amici respectfully request that the Court grant leave to file the attached brief as Amici curiae. ii Respectfully submitted, BRUCE H. SCHNEIDER Counsel of Record STEPHANIE A. WEATHERS-LOwiN STROOCK & STROOCK & LAVAN LLP 180 Maiden Lane New York, New York 10038 (212) 806-5400 [email protected] Counsel for Amici Curiae iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page MOTION OF LAW AND POLITICAL SCIENCE SCHOLARS FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PETITIONER ................................i TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................iii TABLE OF APPENDICES .......................v TABLE OF CITED AUTHORITIES ..............vi INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE ..................1 SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT .....................3 ARGUMENT....................................5 A CONSENSUS HAS DEVELOPED AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY, RENDERING IT A CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT VIOLATIVE OF THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT..............5 A. The Number of States that have Abolished the Death Penalty has more than Doubled since Furman ........7 B. In those States Where the Death Penalty is still Legal, Executions are Rarely Carried Out.................10 iv Table of Contents Page C. Death Sentence Rates – the Best “on- the-Ground” Indicator of Support for the Death Penalty – are at an all Time Low. .........................13 1. These few Death Sentences also Show Substantial Geographic Isolation. .........................15 D. Public Support for the Death Penalty Has Seriously Declined. ................21 1. Public Opinion Polls. ...............21 2. Reflecting the Changing Sense of Decency in the Country, Many Religious Organizations have Now Taken a Public Stance Against the Death Penalty...........23 3. Professional Organizations Once Committed to the Death Penalty Have Recently Repudiated It. .......24 CONCLUSION .................................25 v TABLE OF APPENDICES Page APPENDIX A — GRAPH REPRESENTING EXECUTIONS BY YEAR FROM 1976-2015 .....1a APPENDIX B — GRAPH REPRESENTING CHANGE IN NUMBER OF DEATH SENTENCES FROM 1974-2014 ................2a APPENDIX C — CORRELATION OF NATIONAL PUBLIC OPINION POLLS AND SENTENCING AND EXECUTION DATA SINCE 1995............................3a vi TABLE OF CITED AUTHORITIES Page Cases Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002).......................passim Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).............................20 Brooks v. Alabama, 136 S. Ct. 708 (2016)...........................17 Caldwell v. Mississippi, 472 U.S. 320 (1985)............................20 Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977).............................6 Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982)..........................6, 14 Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399 (1986).............................6 Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972).......................passim Glossip v. Gross, 135 S. Ct. 2726 (2015)...................7, 8, 18, 25 vii Cited Authorities Page Graham v. Florida, 560 U.S. 48 (2010).............................13 Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976)............................21 Hall v. Florida, 134 S. Ct. 1986 (2014)......................5, 9, 10 Hurst v. Florida, 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016) .........................7, 17 Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008).....................6, 7, 10, 14 Lockhart v. McCree, 476 U.S. 165 (1986) ............................15 Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015)...........................5 Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002) ............................7 Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005)...................6-7, 8, 10, 14 Stanford v. Kentucky, 492 U.S. 361 (1989) .............................8 viii Cited Authorities Page Thompson v. Oklahoma, 487 U.S. 815 (1988) ............................14 Uttecht v. Brown, 551 U.S. 1 (2007)..............................20 Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412 (1985)............................15 Woodward v. Alabama, 134 S. Ct. 405 (2013)...........................17 Statutes Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ........7, 17 Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution......3, 5, 6 11 Del. C. § 4209 ................................17 Ala. Stat. Ann. 13A-5-47..........................17 Leg. 268, 2015 Leg., 104th Sess. (Neb. 2015) .........10 Sup. Ct. R. 37.6 ..................................1 Other Authorities The American Law Institute, Report of the Council to the Membership on the Matter of the Death Penalty (Apr. 15, 2009) ..................24 ix Cited Authorities Page Baumgartner, Frank R., Suzanna L. De Boef and Amber E. Boydstun. 2008. The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence. New York: Cambridge University Press..........3a Campbell Robertson, The Prosecutor Who Says Louisiana Should ‘Kill More People’, The New York Times (July 7, 2015), http:// www.nytimes.com/2015/07/08/us/louisiana- prosecutor-becomes-blunt-spokesman-for- death-penalty.html?_r=0 ......................16 Death Penalty Moratorium Declaration (Feb. 13, 2015), Governor Tom Wolf, http:// www.scribd.com/doc/255668788/Death- Penalty-Moratorium-Declaration.................9 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ us-military-death-penalty#facts ................11 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death- sentences-united-states-1977-2008 ..............19 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ article.php%3Fdid%3D2249#state ..............23 DPIC, http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ 2015YrEnd.pdf ..........................passim DPIC, http://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ COexecutiveorder.pdf ..........................9 x Cited Authorities Page DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/2015- sentencing ................................15, 2a DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ InsleeMoratoriumRemarks.pdf ..................9 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/ TwoPercentReport.pdf .....................15-16 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/gov- john-kitzhaber-oregon-declares-moratorium- all-executions .................................9 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ node/6136....................................22 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ node/6309 ...................................22 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_ state ........................................18 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/states-and- without-death-penalty ..........................8 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ views-executions?exec_name_1=&exec_ year%5B%5D=1977&exec_ year%5B%5D=1979&exec_ year%5B%5D=1981&exec_ xi Cited Authorities Page year%5B%5D=1982&exec_ year%5B%5D=1983&exec_ year%5B%5D=1984&exec_ year%5B%5D=1985&exec_ year%5B%5D=1986&exec_ year%5B%5D=1987&exec_ year%5B%5D=1988&exec_ year%5B%5D=1989&exec_ year%5B%5D=1990&exec_ year%5B%5D=1991&exec_ year%5B%5D=1992&exec_ year%5B%5D=1993&exec_ year%5B%5D=1994&exec_ year%5B%5D=1995&exec_ year%5B%5D=1996&exec_ year%5B%5D=1997&exec_ year%5B%5D=1998&exec_ year%5B%5D=1999&exec_ year%5B%5D=2000&exec_ year%5B%5D=2001&exec_ year%5B%5D=2002&exec_ year%5B%5D=2003&exec_ year%5B%5D=2004&exec_ year%5B%5D=2005&exec_ year%5B%5D=2006&exec_ year%5B%5D=2007&exec_ year%5B%5D=2008&exec_ year%5B%5D=2009&exec_ year%5B%5D=2010&exec_ year%5B%5D=2011&exec_ year%5B%5D=2012&exec_ xii Cited Authorities Page year%5B%5D=2013&exec_ year%5B%5D=2014&exec_ year%5B%5D=2015&exec_year% 5B%5D=2016&sex=All&state%5B %5D=PA&sex_1=All&federal=A ll&foreigner=All&juvenile=All&volunteer=Al l&=Apply....................................19 DPIC, http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ views-executions?exec_name_1=&exec_ year%5B%5D=2007&exec_ year%5B%5D=2008&exec_
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