992
Blackmun, J., dissenting
exercised on the basis of constitutionally impermissible considerations—primary among them, race. Racial prejudice is "the paradigmatic capricious and irrational sentencing factor." Graham v. Collins, 506 U. S. 461, 484 (1993) (Thomas, J., concurring). In part to diminish the danger that a sentencer will "attac[h] the 'aggravating' label to factors that are constitutionally impermissible or totally irrelevant to the sentencing process," Zant v. Stephens, 462 U. S., at 885, this Court has required that a sentencer's discretion be curbed and informed by "clear and objective standards," Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U. S. 153, 198 (1976) ( joint opinion of Stewart, Powell, and Stevens, JJ.) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Because the "circumstances of the crime" factor lacks clarity and objectivity, it poses an unacceptable risk that a sentencer will succumb to either overt or subtle racial impulses or appeals. This risk is not merely theoretical. For far too many jurors, the most important "circumstances of the crime" are the race of the victim or the defendant. See Mc-Cleskey v. Kemp, 481 U. S. 279, 320 (1987) (Brennan, J., dissenting); see also General Accounting Office, Report to Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary, Death Penalty Sentencing: Research Indicates Pattern of Racial Disparities (Feb. 1990) (surveying and synthesizing studies and finding a "remarkably consistent" conclusion that the race of the victim influenced the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty in 82% of cases), reprinted at 136 Cong. Rec. 12267-12268 (1990).
The California capital sentencing scheme does little to minimize this risk. The "circumstances of the crime" factor may be weighed in aggravation in addition to the applicable special circumstances. Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 190.3(a) (West 1988) (the trier of fact shall take into account "[t]he circumstances of the crime of which the defendant was convicted in the present proceeding and the existence of any special circumstances found to be true") (emphasis added).
Page: Index Previous 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007