[20040812]RS21909_死刑：2003-2004年最高法院判决摘要.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21909August 12, 2004Capital Punishment: Summary of SupremeCourt Decisions of the 2003-2004 TermPaul Starett Wallace, Jr.Specialist in American Public LawAmerican Law DivisionSummaryIn the 2003-2004 term, the Supreme Court decided in Banks v. Dretke, that DelmaBanks should be allowed to raise Brady challenges based on failure by the prosecutionto release exculpatory evidence in federal habeas proceedings even though they hadbeen fully presented to the state courts. In Nelson v. Campbell, it ruled that a challengeto the method of execution under 42 U.S.C. 1983 is not equivalent to a habeas corpuspetition, provided that the petitioner is not contesting his imprisonment (the petitionerclaimed that the Alabama prisons intended use of a “cut-down” procedure to access hisveins for a lethal injection violated his Eighth Amendment protection against cruel andunusual punishment) and that section ( 1983) is appropriate for his Eighth Amendmentclaim seeking a temporary stay and permanent injunctive relief. In Beard v. Banks, theCourt held that the petitioner could not benefit f