[tjwmason]

Forgive a question from a limey. What is the point of judges if they cannot pass sentence?

Why do juries, rather than judges, have to pass death sentences?

If this is a 'right', then surely it was a right before the SCOTUS suddenly 'discovered' it hidden away in the dark recess of the Constitution known as liberal-la-la-land?

[ernie pantuso]

In some states, jurors decide whether to impose the death sentence. In other states, judges decide whether to impose the death sentence. A state that has a death penalty determines whether the sentencer shall be the judge or thejurors.

The United States Supreme Court NEVER RULED that jurors must decide sentences in death penalty cases. The media, and most folks on this board, have incorrectly read and interpreted the Ring decision as so ordering. All the Ring decison said is that elements of 1st degree murder that make a person death eligible(such as multiple killings, age of victim, pecuniary gain, especially cruel/heinous/depraved, etc) must be proven to jurors beyond a reasonable doubt. Once that has been done, then a judge could determine whether to impose the death penalty. After the Ring decision, some former judge-sentencing states such as Arizona changed their laws so that jurors now decide the sentence for death penalty cases.