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August 18, 2009

Scalia: Constitution Does Not Forbid Execution of the Innocent
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In the majority opinion in the Troy Davis case, Justice John Paul
Stevens wrote, “The substantial risk of putting an innocent man to death
clearly provides an adequate justification for holding an evidentiary
hearing.” Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas
objected to the court’s decision. Scalia criticized his colleagues for
thinking that mere innocence is grounds to overturn a conviction. Scalia
wrote, “This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the
execution of a convicted defendant who has had a full and fair trial but
is later able to convince a habeas court that he is ‘actually’
innocent.” We’ll have more on Troy Davis’s case on Wednesday.



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