Republican pushes to curb judges’ death penalty power
Austin Huguelet
JEFFERSON CITY — A Jefferson County senator is taking a run at curbing Missouri judges’ power to impose death sentences without a jury’s assent.
A bill from Sen. Paul Wieland, R-Imperial, heard in committee last week would mandate a sentence of life without the possibility of parole if a jury can’t reach a unanimous verdict on punishment in a capital case.
If passed, it would effectively end the state's unusual practice of allowing judges to decide whether to condemn a convicted person in the event of a deadlocked jury.
The Show-Me State and Indiana are the only states with such an arrangement, according to previous reporting. Most others follow federal procedure where a deadlocked jury means an automatic life sentence.
"The death penalty is the ultimate penalty or sanction by the state," Wieland said in an interview. "It should be very difficult to do that, and you should have 12 people agreeing that is the proper punishment."
What did those in favor of the bill say?
A number of people showed up last Tuesday to offer similar sentiments. More than one questioned whether current policy clashes with the Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.
Greg Mermelstein, deputy director of the Missouri Public Defender System, pointed out the current dynamic led to situations where 11 of 12 jurors in a capital case could vote for life in prison, and a judge could still impose death.
He noted that very scenario played out in 2017 in St. Charles County, when a judge sentenced Marvin Rice to death for the murder of his ex-girlfriend.
In another case in Springfield, Craig Wood was convicted of first-degree murder for the abduction, rape and killing of 10-year-old Hailey Owens in 2014. After the guilty verdict, the jury deadlocked 10-2 for death when deciding punishment, and Greene County Judge Thomas Mountjoy took the majority position.
Mermelstein said ending the practice could save money his agency has to spend pursuing costly capital case appeals as well.
Rosemary Percival, a public defender who works on death penalty cases, added that allowing a jury to have the final say in capital cases would give decisions “more legitimacy” because they would come from a cross-section of a community carefully vetted for extreme views on the death penalty.
“Jurors bring to the table more diverse perspectives, more backgrounds and more experience than does one judge,” she said.
What did those against the bill say?
Not everyone agreed, though.
St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said concerns about one person deciding a convicted person’s fate could easily be turned on their head. Lohmar also represents the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
“Under this bill, you could have one juror make the sole decision whether or not someone should or should not receive the death penalty,” he said. “In other words, there's an instruction that would have to be given and that would be a clear warning shot to anybody who wanted to derail a death penalty trial, any juror, they would have the right to do that.”
Opinion:Restore the right of sentencing to jurors
The Senate committee that heard Wieland's bill did not immediately take a vote on it last week; bills are rarely given votes on the same day they are heard.
Rep. Shamed Dogan, R-Ballwin, is carrying an identical bill in the House. It passed out of committee earlier this month and now awaits a full House vote.
The legislation is House Bill 811 and Senate Bill 288.