Foreclosed Impartiality in Capital Sentencing: Jurors’ Predispositions Guilt-Trial Experience and Premature Decision Making

The bifurcation of the capital trial into separate guilt and sentencing phases is the most decisive and uniform change in the administration of the death penalty under the capital statutes approved in Gregg v. Georgia 1 and companion cases.By law, jurors make the life or death sentencing decision at a separate penalty trial after the determination of guilt in accordance with carefully drawn sentencing instructions.These sentencing instructions are intended to guide the exercise of sentencing discretion by articulating those aggravating and mitigating considerations that are relevant to this decision.In this way, the exercise of capital sentencing discretion is to be guided and thus freed of constitutionally impermissible caprice, arbitrariness, and discrimination.The Supreme Court has underscored the importance of a separate and independent sentencing decision in Morgan v. Illinois, 2 requiring that capital jurors give effect to the statutory considerations that are appropriate for the sentencing decision.