Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 41 (2003)

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362

MILLER-EL v. COCKRELL

Thomas, J., dissenting

bers with criminal histories. Bozeman and Fields were struck for making prodefense remarks about rehabilitation.

Simple deduction, and an analysis of petitioner's contentions that includes the names of these allegedly similar white veniremen, cf. ibid., reveals that petitioner has unearthed no white venireman who, like Warren and Boggess, was both ambivalent about the death penalty and related to individuals who had previous brushes with the law.6 Petitioner also produces no white venireman who, like Fields, expressed prodefense views on rehabilitation and had a family member with a criminal history.7 "Similarly situated"

6 Petitioner directs the Court to white veniremen Noad Vickery, Cheryl Davis, Chatta Nix, and Joan Weiner as having family members with criminal histories, but points to white veniremen Sandra Hearn and Marie Mazza as equally ambivalent about the death penalty. Brief for Petitioner 22. Of course, as Justice Scalia demonstrates, Hearn and Mazza were not ambivalent about the death penalty. Ante, at 351-352 (concurring opinion).

7 Again petitioner points to Vickery, Davis, Nix, and Weiner for similar family histories. Justice Scalia has shown that none of these four were in fact similarly situated to Fields with respect to this justification. Ante, at 353-354 (concurring opinion). Petitioner also alleges that Hearn made prodefense remarks about rehabilitation similar to those made by Fields. Again, no white venireman even allegedly fits both reasons given for striking Fields. Furthermore, even if Fields had only been struck for his views on rehabilitation, those views were in no way equivalent to those expressed by Hearn. Fields answered "yes" to the question whether he believed that "everyone can be rehabilitated." App. 118. Fields went on to say that "[i]t may be far-fetched, but I feel like, if a person has the opportunity to really be talked about God and he commits himself, whereas he has committed this offense, then if he turns his life around, that is rehabilitation." Ibid. In contrast, Hearn stated that she "believe[d] in the death penalty if a criminal cannot be rehabilitated." Id., at 694.

Petitioner tries to muddy the waters by pointing out that Fields was, in other respects, a good State's juror because he supported the death penalty. Brief for Petitioner 24-25. However, that does not change the fact that Fields said that everyone could be rehabilitated (and thus might have been swayed by a penitent defendant's testimony) and Hearn insisted that

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