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. While some rulings applied very narrowly, perhaps to only one individual, other cases have had great influence over wide areas of procedure, eligible crimes, acceptable evidence and method of execution.
YearCaseRulingVote
1879Wilkerson v. UtahFiring squad is constitutional.9-0
1890In re KemmlerElectrocution is constitutional.9-0
1905Rooney v. North DakotaAdoption of private execution versus public execution after sentence does not violate the Ex post facto clause.9-0
1915Malloy v. South CarolinaRetroactively changing the execution method does not violate the Ex post facto clause.9-0
1932Powell v. AlabamaCourts are required to ensure that, in capital cases, indigent defendants who do not represent themselves must be appointed counsel.7-2
1947Francis v. ResweberRe-execution after a failed attempt does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment nor double jeopardy.5-4
1968Witherspoon v. IllinoisA state may not have unlimited challenge for cause of jurors who might have any objection to the death penalty. 6-3
1971McGautha v. CaliforniaThe death penalty can be imposed by a jury without standards to govern its imposition, and a unitary guilt and punishment trial is constitutional. 6-3
1972Furman v. GeorgiaThe death penalty must not be imposed arbitrarily and capriciously. The ruling caused all death sentences pending at the time to be reduced to life imprisonment and made all previous capital punishment statutes void.5-4
1976Gregg v. GeorgiaPost-Furman death penalty statutes providing a bifurcated trial in capital cases to decide guilt and punishment are constitutional.7-2
1976Woodson v. North CarolinaStatutes providing mandatory imposition of the death penalty are unconstitutional.5-4
1977Coker v. GeorgiaThe death penalty is an unconstitutional punishment for rape of an adult woman when the victim is not killed.6-3
1978Lockett v. OhioSentencing authorities must have the discretion to consider every possible mitigating factor, rather than being limited to a specific list of factors.6-2
1980Beck v. AlabamaJury must be allowed to consider lesser included offense, not just capital offense or acquittal.7-2
1980Godfrey v. GeorgiaMurder must involve a narrow and precise aggravating factor to be punishable by death.6-3
1982Enmund v. FloridaDeath penalty is unconstitutional for a person who is a minor participant in a felony and does not kill, attempt to kill, or intend to kill.5-4
1984Pulley v. HarrisThere is no constitutional requirement for a proportionality review of sentences in comparable cases throughout a state.7-2
1984Spaziano v. FloridaIt is constitutional for a judge rather than jury to decide aggravating factors..6-3
1986Ford v. WainwrightExecution of an insane convict is unconstitutional.5-4
1987Tison v. ArizonaDeath penalty may be imposed on a felony-murder defendant who was a major participant in the underlying felony and exhibits extreme indifference to human life.5-4
1987McCleskey v. KempRacial disparities not recognized as a constitutional violation of "equal protection of the law" unless intentional racial discrimination against the defendant can be shown.5-4
1987Sumner v. ShumanA death sentence cannot be mandatory, even for a murder committed by a prisoner already serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole.6-3
1988Lowenfield v. PhelpsThe aggravating factor making the crime punishable by death may be found in the definition of the crime itself as long it is enough narrow and precise.7-2
1988Thompson v. OklahomaCapital punishment for crimes committed at 15 or less is unconstitutional.5-3
1989South Carolina v. GathersAdmission of a victim impact statement at the sentencing phase of a death penalty-trial is unconstitutional. 5-4
1989Stanford v. KentuckyThe death penalty for crimes committed at age 16 or 17 is constitutional. 5-4
1989Penry v. LynaughExecuting persons with mental retardation is constitutional. 5-4
1990Walton v. ArizonaJudge-finding of aggravating factors is constitutional. The aggravating factor "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved" is not unconstitutionally vague. 5-4
1991Payne v. TennesseeVictim impact statements are admissible during the penalty phase of a capital case.6-3
1992Morgan v. IllinoisA defendant may challenge for cause a prospective juror who would automatically vote to impose the death penalty in every capital case.6-3
1993Herrera v. CollinsIn the absence of other constitutional grounds, federal courts have no power to rule on innocence claims based on newly discovered evidence.6-3
1995Schlup v. DeloA condemned man can bypass the procedural bar on successive federal habeas petitions if he show that "a constitutional violation has probably resulted in the conviction of one who is actually innocent".5-4
1995Harris v. AlabamaAllowing the judge to impose a death sentence and making the jury recommendation non-binding even when it calls for life imprisonment is constitutional.8-1
2002Ring v. ArizonaA death sentence where the necessary aggravating factors are determined by a judge violates a defendant's constitutional right to a trial by jury, as the jury should determine if there are such factors sufficient to allow the death penalty.7-2
2002Atkins v. VirginiaThe execution of mentally retarded offenders is unconstitutional.6-3
2004Schriro v. SummerlinRing v. Arizona does not apply retroactively to cases already final on direct review.5-4
2005Roper v. SimmonsThe death penalty for those who had committed their crimes under 18 years of age is unconstitutional.5-4
2006Oregon v. GuzekStates may limit the evidence of innocence a defendant may present at his sentencing hearing to evidence already presented at his trial.8-0
2006Hill v. McDonoughChallenging constitutionality of the execution method is a §1983 lawsuit, not a habeas corpus petition, and thus not subject to the procedural bar on successive petitions.9-0
2006Kansas v. MarshImposing the death penalty when mitigating and aggravating factors are in equipoise is constitutional.5-4
2007Panetti v. QuartermanA person may not be executed if they do not understand the reason for their imminent execution. Once the state has set an execution date death-row inmates may litigate their competency to be executed in habeas corpus proceedings.5-4
2008Baze v. ReesKentucky's lethal injection method using sodium thiopental is constitutional.7-2
2008Kennedy v. LouisianaThe death penalty is unconstitutional for child rape and other non-homicidal crimes against the person.5-4
2009Harbison v. BellIndigent death row inmates sentenced under state law have a right to federally funded habeas counsel in post-conviction state clemency proceedings, when the state has denied such counsel.7-2
2011Leal Garcia v. TexasCourts cannot stay an execution on the grounds that Congress might eventually enact a statute to enforce an international law.5-4
2014Hall v. FloridaIQ tests alone can not be used as a rigid limit for determining intellectual disability.5-4
2015Glossip v. GrossTo be unconstitutional, a method of execution must involve any risk of harm which is substantial when compared to a known and available alternative method. The condemned has the burden of proof.5-4
2016Hurst v. FloridaFlorida law giving judges the power to decide facts related to sentencing violates the Sixth Amendment in light of Ring, which requires a jury to determine if there are aggravating factors making the crime punishable by death.8-1
2019Madison v. AlabamaExecuting a prisoner who cannot remember committing his or her crime may be constitutional, but executing a prisoner who suffers from dementia or another disorder, rather than psychotic delusions, may not be.5-3
2019Bucklew v. PrecytheBaze v. Rees and Glossip v. Gross govern all Eighth Amendment challenges alleging that a method of execution inflicts unconstitutionally cruel pain. "The Eighth Amendment forbids 'cruel and unusual' methods of capital punishment but does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death."5-4