Numbers of capital murder cases are now on hold as a Superior Court judge halted all penalty hearings and trials. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court in Delaware weighs the constitutionality of the state's death penalty law.
On Monday, President Judge Jan Jurden, head of the Superior Court system issued the order. The Supreme Court accepted more than a few questions submitted by a Superior Court judge. The questions were prompted by a recent ruling of the US Supreme Court. It asks about the roles of juries and judges in death penalty cases, particularly in Delaware.
Delaware has more than two dozen pending cases for capital murder, and this could be impacted as the Supreme Court decides whether it will consider the constitutionality of the death penalty legislation as reported by Delaware Online. The state of House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a death penalty repeal bill this Thursday. Governor Jack Markell released a statement saying he would sign the bill if it passes.
The Superior Court Judge Paul Wallace asked the Supreme Court to use Benjamin Rauf's trial as a test case. Benjamin Rauf, a Temple University law graduate, was charged with gunning down his 27-year-old classmate Shazi Uppal in a parking lot at a nursing home last summer. ABC News reported that supporters of the bill said they would try to resurrect the measure after a five-week break for budget committee meetings.
The Republic reported that the US Supreme Court said that Florida's death penalty scheme was unconstitutional because a jury, not a judge, must find each fact required to execute a death sentence.
Florida's sentencing scheme is similar to Delaware. 13 inmates are now on death row in Delaware, but reports say that the state does not have the necessary chemicals to carry out death penalty if one were ordered.
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