Opinion ID: 852914
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Death Penalty as Inherently Unconstitutional

Text: Ritchie argues that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment and Article I, Section 16 of the Indiana Constitution because it is not a deterrent to crime. The constitutionality of the death penalty under the federal constitution was resolved by the Supreme Court of the United States in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976). Ritchie's contention under the State Constitution assumes that deterrence is the only legitimate goal of a penal law and also that the death penalty serves no deterrent purpose. Even if the former is the case, in Gregg, the Supreme Court observed that the death penalty serves as a valid deterrent in some situations and not in others. 428 U.S. at 186-87, 96 S.Ct. 2909. Ritchie's contention under the state constitution also seeks review of settled precedent. We adhere to the view this Court expressed in Evans v. State, 563 N.E.2d 1251, 1264 (Ind.1990): The effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent is debatable; resolution of that issue is a matter for the legislature.