South Carolina v. Gathers | |
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Argued March 28, 1989 Decided June 12, 1989 | |
Full case name | Demitrius Gathers v. Tennessee |
Citations | 490 U.S. 805 (more) 109 S. Ct. 2207; 104 L. Ed. 2d 876; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 2817 |
Case history | |
Prior | State v. Gathers, 295 S.C. 476, 369 S.E.2d 140 (1988); cert. granted, 488 U.S. 888 (1988). |
Subsequent | Rehearing denied, 492 U.S. 938 (1989). |
Holding | |
Victim impact evidence is relevant at the sentencing stage and thus admissible only if it directly relates to the circumstances of the crime. The content of religious cards possessed by the victim cannot equate to such relevance and contributes nothing to the defendant's blameworthiness. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens |
Concurrence | White |
Dissent | O'Connor, joined by Rehnquist, Kennedy |
Dissent | Scalia |
Laws applied | |
U.S. Const. amends. VIII, XIV | |
Overruled by | |
Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991) |
South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805 (1989), was a United States Supreme Court case which held that testimony in the form of a victim impact statement is admissible during the sentencing phase of a trial only if it directly relates to the "circumstances of the crime."[1] This case was later overruled by the Supreme Court decision in Payne v. Tennessee.[2]
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