Opinion ID: 1690126
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 30

Heading: would jordan's execution violate the eighth amendment?

Text: ś 160. Jordan did not make this argument at trial and is procedurally barred from raising it for the first time on appeal. ś 161. Jordan argues that he has been incarcerated on death row from the time the crime was committed in this case, in 1976, until 1991, and then again in 1998, when the life sentence was vacated, until now. He claims that he has suffered psychological trauma waiting for his execution and that there is nothing gained by the State from 22 years of needless infliction of pain and suffering. He indicates that the United States Supreme Court has held that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment when it makes no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment, i.e., retribution and deterrence, and is nothing more than needless imposition of pain and suffering. Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 335, 109 S.Ct. 2934, 2956, 106 L.Ed.2d 256, 289 (1989). Jordan also points out that Justices Stevens and Breyer have opined that there may be a valid Eighth Amendment challenge for someone who has spent many years on death row. Lackey v. Texas, 514 U.S. 1045, 115 S.Ct. 1421, 131 L.Ed.2d 304 (1995) (memorandum of Stevens, J., respecting the denial of certiorari). However, a denial of certiorari has no precedential value. Moreover, Justice Thomas responded to Justices Stevens and Breyer when he noted that the Constitution would not protect a defendant who availed himself of the panoply of appellate and collateral procedures and then claimed that his execution had been too long delayed. Knight v. Florida, 528 U.S. 990, 120 S.Ct. 459, 145 L.Ed.2d 370 (1999) (Thomas, J., concurring in the denial of certiorari). There is no precedent which supports Jordan's contention that his Eighth Amendment right against cruel and unusual punishment has been violated. Therefore, there are no grounds for reversal on this issue.