Case Name: SHELL v. MISSISSIPPI
Court: Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 1990-10-29
Citations: 498 U.S. 1
Docket Number: No. 89-7279
Parties: SHELL v. MISSISSIPPI
Judges: 
Reporter: United States Reports
Volume: 498
Pages: 1–4

Head Matter:
SHELL v. MISSISSIPPI
No. 89-7279.
Decided October 29, 1990

Opinion:
Per Curiam.
The motion of petitioner for leave to proceed informa pau-peris and the petition for a writ of certiorari are granted. To the extent that the Mississippi Supreme Court relied on the "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel" aggravating factor in affirming petitioner's death sentence, its decision is reversed. See Maynard v. Cartwright, 486 U. S. 356 (1988). Although the trial court in this case used a limiting instruction to define the "especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel" factor, that instruction is not constitutionally sufficient. See Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U. S. 420 (1980); Cartwright v. Maynard, 822 F. 2d 1477, 1489-1491 (CA10 1987) (en banc), aff'd, 486 U. S. 356 (1988). The case is remanded to the Mississippi Supreme Court for further consideration in light of Clemons v. Mississippi, 494 U. S. 738 (1990).
It is so ordered.