Opinion ID: 1688754
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: the lower court erred in denying appellant's motion to strike and quash the unconstitutional mississippi statutes providing for the imposition of the death penalty in the application of this case.

Text: Appellant contends that Mississippi's capital murder statute is unconstitutional because it is arbitrarily and indiscriminately applied; that the death penalty is cruel and inhuman punishment and is in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution; and that it is imposed at the discretion of the jury without fixed standards to guide the jury. Appellant's argument has been rejected by this Court and by other jurisdictions. Ross v. Moffitt, 417 U.S. 600, 94 S.Ct. 2437, 41 L.Ed.2d 341 (1974); United States v. Patterson, 724 F.2d 1128 (5th Cir.1984); Gray v. Lucas, 677 F.2d 1086 (5th Cir.1982); Hoback v. Alabama, 607 F.2d 680 (5th Cir.1979); Bullock v. State, 391 So.2d 601 (Miss. 1981); Coleman v. State, 378 So.2d 640 (Miss. 1979). Likewise, we reject it here.