Criminal Law - The Fate of Aggravating Circumstance (1)(d) after State v. Hunt
Loading...
Authors
Hunzeker, Mark T.
Issue Date
1987
Volume
20
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
INTRODUCTION|For centuries, capital punishment has been at the center of the debate over crime and punishment. Capable of arousing strong emotions, the debate over capital punishment has continued unabated into the twentieth century. Beyond the personal preferences involved in the debate over the death penalty, the fact remains that convicted murderers are being executed in the United States. Using a facially constitutional, aggravating circumstances statute, Nebraska exemplifies a state that has been sentencing convicted murderers to death. Whether the particular murderer is sentenced to life imprisonment or death by electrocution depends primarily on the factual circumstances surrounding the crime.|Nebraska's aggravating and mitigating circumstances statute lists eight circumstances that are to be evaluated by a court imposing the death penalty, and seven mitigating circumstances that are to be evaluated by a court imposing a life imprisonment sentence. One of the most controversial aggravating circumstance provisions provides: "The murder was especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or manifested exceptional depravity by ordinary standards of morality and intelligence."...
Description
Citation
20 Creighton L. Rev. 531 (1986-1987)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law