Odd, isn't it, that when the Court can't decide to decide, that a tie vote means that someone dies. You'd think there would be a better safeguard for the death penalty than that.
In the meantime, for no reason that anyone can discern, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decided to stop the execution, which gives the Supreme Court time to hear Beazley's broader appeal, if it so chooses. I can't imagine that it will so choose; if a 3-3 tie means that an execution proceeds, surely it also means that a case can't proceed.
Amnesty International has also issued a paper about executing juveniles, with copious specific reference to that case. Texas in particular seems to be on the juvenile-execution express, but then, they're on the execution express in general.
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A tie vote in the Supreme Court means that the ruling of the Circuit Court stands, and the Circuit Court ruled for execution.
If the Circuit Court had ruled against execution, the tie would have affirmed that, too.
Posted by Steven C. Den Beste @ 08/15/2001 03:32 PM CST
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