Sumner v. Shuman
1987 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sumner v. Shuman, 483 U.S. 66 (1987), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a mandatory death penalty for a prison inmate who is convicted of murder while serving a life sentence without possibility of parole is unconstitutional.[1] The decision in this case was a significant development in the Court's capital punishment jurisprudence, further clarifying the limits on the application of the death penalty in the United States.
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Quick Facts Sumner v. Shuman, Argued April 20, 1987 Decided June 22, 1987 ...
Sumner v. Shuman | |
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Argued April 20, 1987 Decided June 22, 1987 | |
Full case name | Sumner v. Shuman |
Docket no. | 86-246 |
Citations | 483 U.S. 66 (more) |
Argument | Oral argument |
Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
Holding | |
A mandatory death penalty for a prison inmate convicted of murder while serving a life sentence without possibility of parole is unconstitutional. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Blackmun, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Powell, Stevens, O'Connor |
Dissent | Scalia, joined by Rehnquist, White |
Laws applied | |
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution |
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