Court Opinion

ID: 9475416
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:26:55.259776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:42.733509
License: Public Domain

HILL, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:
I concur in the s.tay for the reasons stated in the order.
I write separately to suggest that, until further instruction by the Supreme Court, execution of death sentences should be stayed. The Court has granted certiorari in McCleskey v. Kemp, — U.S. —, 106 S.Ct. 3331, 92 L.Ed.2d 737 (1986) (granting certiorari), and in Hitchcock v. Wainwright, — U.S. —, 106 S.Ct. 2888, 90 L.Ed.2d 976 (1986) (granting certiorari). In those cases, the petitioners assert that the people and institutions of Georgia (McCleskey) and of Florida (Hitchcock) are inadequate to constitutionally administer the death penalty. The petitions in those cases somewhat resemble claims of the unconstitutional application of a constitutional law,1 but they do not assert any particularized, individual, intentional discrimination inflicted upon either petitioner. See Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976). Rather, the petitions appear to me to assert that “government, created and run as it must be by humans, is inevitably incompetent to administer” the death penalty. See Gregg 428 U.S. at 228, 96 S.Ct. at 2971, 49 L.Ed.2d 904 (White, J., concurring.)
*397This court rejected petitioners claims to the writ of habeas corpus so premised. McCleskey v. Kemp, 753 F.2d 877 (11th Cir.1985) (en banc); Hitchcock v. Wainwright, 770 F.2d 1514 (11th Cir.1985) (en banc). The Supreme Court has granted review of those cases. Should petitioners prevail, execution of the death penalty will be unconstitutional if administration of it be by a government created and run by humans.
While that issue is under consideration by the Court, it may well be that all death sentence executions should be stayed.

. Georgia’s death penalty statute is constitutional, Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153, 96 S.Ct. 2909, 49 L.Ed.2d 859 (1976), as is Florida’s, Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242, 96 S.Ct. 2960, 49 L.Ed.2d 213 (1976).