Kennedy v. Louisiana
| Kennedy v. Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 16, 2008 Decided June 25, 2008 | |
| Full case name | Patrick O. Kennedy v. State of Louisiana |
| Docket no. | 07-343 |
| Citations | 554 U.S. 407 (more) |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Defendant convicted, sentenced, La. Dist. Ct., Aug. 26, 2003; aff'd, State v. Kennedy, 957 So.2d 757 (La. 2007); cert. granted, 552 U.S. 1087 (2008). |
| Procedural | Writ of Certiorari to the Louisiana Supreme Court |
| Subsequent | Supplemental briefing ordered, 554 U.S. 943 (2008). Opinion modified; Petition for Rehearing denied, 554 U.S. 945 (2008) |
| Holding | |
| It is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty for a crime where the victim did not die and the victim's death was not intended. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Stevens, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer |
| Dissent | Alito, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Thomas |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amends. VIII, XIV; La. Stat. Ann. §14:42 | |
Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), is a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for a crime in which the victim did not die and the victim's death was not intended.