Posted on 02/01/2006 8:13:20 PM PST by definitelynotaliberal
WASHINGTON - New Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives Wednesday night, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alito, handling his first case, sided with inmate Michael Taylor, who had won a stay from an appeals court earlier in the evening. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas supported lifting the stay, but Alito joined the remaining five members in turning down Missouri's last-minute request to allow a midnight execution.
Earlier in the day, Alito was sworn in for a second time in a White House ceremony, where he was lauded by President Bush as a man of "steady demeanor, careful judgment and complete integrity."
He was also was given his assignment for handling emergency appeals: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. As a result, Missouri filed with Alito its request for the high court to void a stay and allow Taylor's execution.
The court's split vote Wednesday night ended a frenzied day of filings. Missouri twice asked the justices to intervene and permit the execution, while Taylor's lawyers filed two more appeals seeking delays.
Reporters and witnesses had gathered at the state prison awaiting word from the high court on whether to go ahead with the execution.
An appeals court will now review Taylor's claim that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment, a claim also used by two Florida death-row inmates that won stays from the Supreme Court over the past week. The court has agreed to use one of the cases to clarify how inmates may bring last-minute challenges to the way they will be put to death.
Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, who had often been the swing vote in capital punishment cases. He was expected to side with prosecutors more often than O'Connor, although as an appeals court judge, his record in death penalty cases was mixed.
Scalia and Thomas have consistently sided with states in death penalty cases and have been especially critical of long delays in carrying out executions.
Taylor was convicted of killing 15-year-old Ann Harrison, who was waiting for a school bus when he and an accomplice kidnapped her in 1989. Taylor pleaded guilty and said he was high on crack cocaine at the time.
Taylor's legal team had pursued two challenges — claiming that lethal injection is cruel and unusual punishment and that his constitutional rights were violated by a system tilted against black defendants.
The court, acting without Alito, rejected Taylor's appeal that argued that Missouri's death penalty system is racist. Taylor is black and his victim was white. He filed the appeal on Tuesday, the day that Alito was confirmed by the Senate.
Exactly. There may be nothing wrong here, but it sure raises some questions. If the libs have managed to get another stealth leftist on the Supreme Court right under our very noses, it'll be one of the most stunning political defeats ever. I'll wait and see before jumping to conclusions, but I'm concerned.
They would rather lie and slander everyone who doesn't march in goose, err, lockstep with their kook views.
And how do you know this? He vote is not implying that he agrees that lethal injection is cruel, it is simply he wants to hear more arguments about it. Give the man a break, he has been on the court for 12 hours. Come people! WTF!
The issue is regarding lethal injection.
True.
However, HIS case is the case that will test it. You obviously do not want THE PERSON INVOLVED IN THE CASE dead before you hear it.
I am sure Alito will rule lethal injection is not cruel and unusual, but at this point, since the case is coming before the court, it would be difficult to proceed with a case when the person claiming the injury has already been killed.
Also, isn't Alito a strong Catholic, and the Catholic Church is strongly opposed to the death penalty?
I am sending you a Reynolds tin foil roll, please give me your address. I will send you some pampers as well.
This article says the unanimous decision came earlier. Apparently it was reviewed again a few hours later, but I don't understand the details, nor why the conservatives split off on that one.
And how do you know this? He vote is not implying that he agrees that lethal injection is cruel, it is simply he wants to hear more arguments about it. Give the man a break, he has been on the court for 12 hours. Come people! WTF!
I'm not going to jump to conclusions over this, but I will have to say, IF ANYONE HERE IS CONCERNED ABOUT LETHAL INJECTION BEING CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT (and that includes Alito unfortunately)FOR A RAPIST KILLER OF A YOUNG GIRL OR ANY RAPIST KILLER FOR THAT MATTER THEN YOU'RE ALL SCREWED UP.
Exceedingly doubtful. If so, then Alito fooled everyone including Kennedy, Schumer and all the other flaming, kooky libs.
PLEASE look later in the article.
THERE WAS A 9-0 VOTE EARLIER.
THE 6-3 VOTE CAME LATER THIS EVENING.
Now, as for the details on the votes...why the change...what the heck the votes mean....I DO NOT KNOW.
Jonathan Adler from National Review gave a quick take of the decision on Bench Memos on NRO:
"On the Supreme Court for scarcely more than 24 hours and Justice Alito casts his first vote — with Justice Kennedy the Court's liberal wing to stay an execution pending in Missouri."
LOL....
Why limit that to just Freepers? Everyone's jumping the gun here.
"Exactly right, however the some of the thick skull knee and jerk freepers are not understanding this simplest of points."
Agreed!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.