Q&A Hero

Question

Randall Martinez, a Hispanic man, was convicted in a Texas court for the murder of a security guard during a bank robbery. Texas allows for the death penalty to be given when certain aggravating circumstances accompany a murder. A defendant may be sentenced to death if any two of the following three factors are present. The jury must consider (1) whether the murder was committed in the course of a robbery,; (2) whether the murder was shamelessly gross and disgusting and (3) whether the murder victim was a minor.
Prior to Martinez's sentencing, the judge, William "Wild Bill" Houston, instructed the jurors that all murders are inherently gross and disgusting and that they must include that as one of the aggravating circumstances of this crime. He also said that Hispanics are genetically prone to violent and anti-social behavior and are not fit for society. The jury returned with a death sentence for Martinez, having found that the murder was gross and disgusting, and that it was committed in the course of a robbery.
The intermediate court of appeals and the Texas Supreme Court upheld Martinez's conviction and the death sentence. In his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, Martinez relied on the findings of a study conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University. The study showed that, in Texas murder trials, Hispanic defendants were 40 percent more likely than African American defendants, and 75 percent more likely than white defendants to get the death penalty. defendants. In murder cases tried before Judge Houston, 90 percent of Hispanic received the death penalty, but only 40 percent of African American defendants and 25 percent of white defendants were sentenced to death.
Based on this information, if you were a Supreme Court justice, would you overturn Martinez's sentence? How has the Supreme Court interpreted the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment in regard to the death penalty? What is the primary limitation the Court has recognized on the application of the death penalty, and does it apply to the Martinez case? Explain your reasoning and justify your opinion with reference to cases involving the Eighth Amendment's protection against cruel and unusual punishment.

Answer

*A. Varies

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