Department of Capital Punishment For Capital Punishment's Sake

Pryor, lawyer argue death case effects

The latest from the bozo we call an Attorney General of the State of Alabama... The United States Supreme Court has ruled that death sentences must be imposed by a jury, that judges can not make the decision. Under Alabama law, the jury makes the decision, but the judge can change it if he sees fit. Bobby Wayne Waldrop killed his grandfather and grandmother in 1998. He was found guilty, but the jury decided, 10-2, to sentence him to life without parole. The judge changed the ruling to a death sentence. To me, SCOTUS' opinion would seem on-point. Not to Bill Pryor, who is apparently trying out for a spot in the Justice Department in the Jeb Bush administration:

Alabama's death penalty law is unaffected by the Ring decision because, unlike the Arizona law, it doesn't permit the judge to elevate a defendant's crime, Pryor said. Instead, he said, it requires a jury to decide whether a defendant is guilty of capital murder and, if so, the defendant is eligible for the death penalty.

I'm sorry, doesn't that mean that the jury would have the choice of either finding him not guilty or sending him to death, no in-between unless there's an lesser charge included? I don't think the Supremes will go for that. Well, maybe Rehnquist.