Kansas v. Marsh, 548 U.S. 163 (2006), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a Kansas death penalty statute was consistent with the United States Constitution. The statute in question provided for a death sentence when the aggravating factors and mitigating factors were of equal weight.The Supreme Court, 2005 Term — Leading Cases, 120 Harv. L. Rev. 144 (2006).
Background Michael Lee Marsh II was convicted of capital murder for the 1996 killings of Marry Ann Pusch and her 19-month-old daughter Marry Elizabeth Pusch in Wichita, Kansas. The Kansas capital punishment statute allowed for the imposition of the death penalty if the mitigating and aggravating factors were of equal weight, so Marsh was sentenced to death.
After Marsh's sentencing, the Kansas Supreme Court in State v Kleypas, declared the law unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment and overturned it. Ruling that "fundamental fairness requires that a 'tie goes to the defendant' when life or death is at issue".
Supreme Court
Decision By a 5–4 vote, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Kansas Supreme Court's decision and upheld the Kansas death penalty statute. Justice Souter as well as Justices Stevens, Ginsburg and Breyer dissented from the majority, with Justice Souter calling the Kansas death penalty statute "morally absurd", "a moral irrationality" and "obtuse by any moral or social measure".
Justice Scalia criticised the dissenting opinion, claiming that the dissenting justices failed to cite a case in which it is clear that an individual was executed for a crime they did not commit:
Dissent Justice David Souter's dissent highlighted the possibility of wrongful convictions in capital cases. He pointed to Illinois, where thirteen death-row prisoners were released between 1977 and 2000, several after evidence showed that they were innocent. The cases generally involved weak evidence connecting the prisoners to the crimes. The examples illustrated that wrongful incarceration could occur even after trials that were fair and constitutionally sound.
Criticism Justice Scalia's concurrence has been criticised for describing a criminal justice system "unfamiliar to anyone who has ever covered a murder case, read a book about one, or watched television news".
Aftermath The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Kansas Supreme Court, which ordered a new trial. At the start of the second trial, Marsh pled guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
See also List of United States Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment
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