446
Blackmun, J., dissenting
summarily with the question whether petitioner is entitled
to relief on the merits of his claim.
V
I have voiced disappointment over this Court's obvious eagerness to do away with any restriction on the States' power to execute whomever and however they please. See Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U. S. 722, 758-759 (1991) (dissenting opinion). See also Coleman v. Thompson, 504 U. S. 188, 189 (1992) (dissent from denial of stay of execution). I have also expressed doubts about whether, in the absence of such restrictions, capital punishment remains constitutional at all. Sawyer v. Whitley, 505 U. S., at 343-345 (opinion concurring in judgment). Of one thing, however, I am certain. Just as an execution without adequate safeguards is unacceptable, so too is an execution when the condemned prisoner can prove that he is innocent. The execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder.
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