Cite as: 505 U. S. 333 (1992)
Stevens, J., concurring in judgment
supports the heightened standard of proof the Court imposes today.
First, there is no basis for requiring a federal court to be virtually certain that the defendant is actually ineligible for the death penalty before merely entertaining his claim. We have required a showing by clear and convincing evidence in several contexts: For example, the medical facts underlying a civil commitment must be established by this standard, Addington v. Texas, 441 U. S. 418 (1979), as must "actual malice" in a libel suit brought by a public official. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U. S. 254, 279-280 (1964); see also Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U. S. 242 (1986). And we have required a related showing in cases involving deportation, Woodby v. INS, 385 U. S. 276, 285-286 (1966), and denaturalization, Schneiderman v. United States, 320 U. S. 118, 125 (1943). In each of these contexts, the interests of the nonmoving party were truly substantial: personal liberty in Addington, freedom of expression in New York Times, residence in Woodby, and citizenship in Schneiderman. In my opinion, the State's interest in finality in a capital prosecution is not nearly as great as any of these interests. Indeed, it is important to remember that "innocence of the death sentence" is not a standard for staying or vacating a death sentence, but merely a standard for determining whether or not a court should reach the merits of a defaulted claim. The State's interest in "finality" in this context certainly does not warrant a "clear and convincing" evidentiary standard.
Nor is there any justification for allocating the risk of error to fall so severely upon the capital defendant or attaching greater importance to the initial sentence than to the issue of whether that sentence is appropriate. The States themselves have declined to attach such weight to capital sentences: Most States provide plain-error review for defaulted claims in capital cases. See Smith v. Murray, 477 U. S., at 548-550, n. 20 (collecting authorities). In this regard, the
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