Warren Mccleskey: Supreme Court Guilty Of The Death Penalty

Suzette Guijosa
US History
Research Paper
01-18-13

When a person is found guilty of murder and they are given the death penalty, and later it is found that the person is innocent, you cannot correct it and bring them back to life. Is that justice? Every day in school we recite the pledge of allegiance and it states that we have justice for all but did Warren McCleskey receive the right justice? In the Preamble of the Constitution, the first thing it states is to establish justice. The Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal and they have the rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Warren McCleskey received the death penalty after he was convicted of murder and the Supreme Court reviewed the case to figure out the proper sentence for Mr. McCleskey.
“The death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and some other capital (serious crimes, especially murder, which are punishable by death).
The death penalty, or capital punishment, may be prescribed by Congress or any state legislature for murder and other capital crimes.” (Death Penalty Law Law & Legal Definition.) “The first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Kendall was executed for being a spy for Spain” (DPIC, 1). Capital Punishment existed in the colonies since the founding of Jamestown. It has been part of our society since it was founded. The death penalty goes back to the 18th century B.C. Britain established the first death penalty laws. People would receive capital punishment for simple things like cutting down trees, stealing grapes and killing chickens. Warren McCleskey was tried and convicted for murder in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia, on October 12, 1978 and received the death penalty for his
crimes. Warren McCleskey was charged with two armed robberies and the killing of Officer Frank Schlatt. He received the death penalty. “McCleskey’s claim was that his death sentence was the product of racial bias in the administration of the death penalty. He argued that but for the race of his victim, he would have received a long prison sentence instead of death.” (Race & The Death Penalty: 25 Years After the McCleskey v. Kemp Ruling). McCleskey filed two unsuccessful appeals. “The Georgia Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari” (McCleskey v Kemp.). Warren McCleskey was the only one out of the four men to receive the death penalty.
Warren McCleskey, an African American male, was convicted of murdering a police officer. On May 13, 1978, Warren McCleskey and three other males robbed the Dixie Furniture Store in Atlanta, Georgia. McCleskey was in charge of the front while the others came through the back of the store. McCleskey and the three others were armed. When they entered the store, they tied up the employees and were forced at gunpoint to lie on the floor. Officer Frank Schlatt, an off-duty police officer entered the furniture store through the front. As he entered the store, he was shot in the face and in the chest. The officer’s head wound was fatal. Warren and the others fled the scene. McCleskey was later arrested in connection to another armed robbery. McCleskey denied shooting the officer at first but admitted to the Dixie Furniture robbery. Later, McCleskey admitted to shooting the officer to two people who both testified against him for the state (Warren McCleskey Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers.)
The Supreme Court ruled against McCleskey in a five to four decision in 1987. McCleskey received the death sentence in which he appealed. He argued that based on the Baldus Study, that his race played a role in his sentence. “Professor Baldus authored a groundbreaking study that found that people accused of killing white victims were four times as likely to be sentenced to death as those accused of killing black victims.” (Equal Justice Initiative.) “In a writ of habeas corpus, McCleskey argued that a statistical study proved that the imposition of the death penalty in Georgia depended to some extent on the race of the victim and the accused” (MCCLESKEY v. KEMP). Justice Harry Blackmun and Justice Brennan agreed that the death penalty violated the eighth and fourteenth amendments. He also believed that his race played a big role in his sentence. Justice Blackmun agreed with Brennan that the death penalty was unconstitutional. Justice Paul Stevens agreed with both Justice Blackmun and Brennan. He wanted to reverse the judgment of the court of appeals. Justice Lewis Powell believed that the Baldus Study did not have enough evidence to reverse Mr. McCleskey’s conviction. The Supreme Court voided Warren McCleskey’s claim and ruled that the death penalty was constitutional. (McCleskey v. Kemp (7)).
“The Court held that since McCleskey could not prove that purposeful discrimination which had a discriminatory effect on him existed in this particular trial, there was no constitutional violation. Justice Powell refused to apply the statistical study in this case given the unique circumstances and nature of decisions that face all juries in capital cases. He argued that the data McCleskey produced is best represented to legislative bodies and not to the courts,” (MCCLESKEY v. KEMP).
Warren McCleskey, a black man, convicted of killing Officer Frank Schlatt received the death penalty on April 22, 1987. Mr. McCleskey appealed his conviction because he strongly believed the death penalty violated the eighth and fourteenth amendments. The Supreme Court denied McCleskey’s claims and went ahead and gave him the death penalty. Warren McCleskey was executed by the electric chair on September 26, 1991 at a Jackson, Georgia state prison after serving 13 years.
As was demonstrated in the McCleskey Case, the punishment for a crime being biased on race is a contentious issue. Though McCleskey was guilty of a crime, his appeal was based on the fact that his sentence did not fit the crime he was accused of which violated his eighth and fourteenth amendment rights. Though the Supreme Court denied his appeal, it was of split decision, five to four, and the dissenting opinions of Justice Brennan, Blackmun, and Stevens shows that the court recognized the Baldus Report but came to a decision that it wasn’t enough to reverse Mr. McCleskey’s sentence.