Schiro v. Indiana, No. 85-5972

CourtUnited States Supreme Court
Writing for the CourtMARSHALL
Citation475 U.S. 1036,89 L.Ed.2d 355,106 S.Ct. 1247
Docket NumberNo. 85-5972
Decision Date24 February 1986
PartiesThomas N. SCHIRO v. INDIANA

475 U.S. 1036
106 S.Ct. 1247
89 L.Ed.2d 355
Thomas N. SCHIRO

v.

INDIANA.

No. 85-5972

Supreme Court of the United States

February 24, 1986

On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Indiana.

The petition for writ of certiorari is denied.

Justice MARSHALL, with whom Justice BRENNAN joins, dissenting.

The trial judge in this case rejected a unanimous jury decision that petitioner's life should be spared, and sentenced him to die. Petitioner's allegations, which call into question the reliability of the judge's sentencing determination, further illustrate why a judge should not have the awesome power to reject a jury recommendation of life. Moreover, a serious inadequacy in the Indiana capital-sentencing procedure dramatically distinguishes it from the jury-override procedure that this Court upheld in Spaziano v.

Page 1037

Florida, 468 U.S. 447, 104 S.Ct. 3154, 82 L.Ed.2d 340 (1984). I must dissent from the Court's decision not to consider petitioner's substantial claims.

I

Thomas N. Schiro was convicted of murder in the course of a rape and, following a hearing on the appropriateness of sentencing him to die, the jury recommended a life sentence. The trial judge, however, rejected the jury's decision and imposed a sentence of death. Upon direct appeal, the Supreme Court of Indiana found that the trial court's findings pertaining to the sentencing did not set out clearly and properly the court's reasons for imposing the death penalty. Schiro v. State, 451 N.E.2d 1047, 1056 (Schiro I ), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1003, 104 S.Ct. 510, 78 L.Ed.2d 699 (1983). That court ordered that the trial court make written findings setting out the aggravating circumstance proved beyond a reasonable doubt and the mitigating circumstances, if any, as listed in the state statute. 451 N.E.2d, at 1056.

In response, the trial court specified one aggravating circumstance, that the jury had convicted petitioner of murder in the course of a rape; it then stated that it found no mitigating circumstances, listing and rejecting each of the statutory mitigating circumstances, even though several were suggested by the evidence. With regard to the mitigating factor concerning a defendant's mental or emotional condition and the impairment of his capacity to appreciate the criminality of his acts, the court found as follows:

"This Court personally observed the Defendant, while the jury was present, making continual rocking motions, which did not stop throughout the trial except when the jury left the Courtroom. In the Court's outer chambers, out of the presence of the jury, in the eight days of trial, the Court frequently observed the Defendant sitting calmly and not rocking. It is apparent to the Court that this may well have influenced and misled the jury in its recommendation."

On the basis of his own suspicions, not subject to evidentiary requirements or tested by cross-examination, the judge decided that a unanimous jury was wrong and that petitioner should die. The Indiana Supreme Court upheld the sentence of death. 479 N.E.2d 556 (1985).

II

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29 practice notes
  • Schiro v. Clark, No. 91-1509
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • September 8, 1992
    ...Supreme Court of the United States again denied Schiro's petition for writ of certiorari to vacate the death sentence. Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 Schiro filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern Dist......
  • Schiro v. Clark, Civ. No. S83-588.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of Indiana
    • December 26, 1990
    ...Court of Indiana affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief as reported in Schiro v. State., 479 N.E.2d 556 (Ind.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986) (Brennan and Marshall, J., When the second appeal got to the Supreme Court of Indiana in Schiro v. St......
  • Minnick v. Anderson, No. 3:99 CV 157 AS.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of Indiana
    • August 22, 2000
    ...U.S. 1003, 104 S.Ct. 510, 78 L.Ed.2d 699 (1983), Schiro v. State, 479 N.E.2d 556 (Ind.1985) (PCR denied), cert. denied Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986), Schiro v. State, 533 N.E.2d 1201 (Ind.1989) (PCR denied), cert. denied Schiro v. Indiana, 493 U.S. ......
  • Summerlin v. Stewart, No. 98-99002.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
    • September 2, 2003
    ..."has emphasized that a sentence of death must reflect an ethical judgment about the `moral guilt' of the defendant." Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 1038, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986) (Marshall, J., dissenting from the denial of certiorari) (citing Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
29 cases
  • Schiro v. Clark, No. 91-1509
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (7th Circuit)
    • September 8, 1992
    ...Supreme Court of the United States again denied Schiro's petition for writ of certiorari to vacate the death sentence. Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 Schiro filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern Dist......
  • Summerlin v. Stewart, No. 98-99002.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
    • September 2, 2003
    ..."has emphasized that a sentence of death must reflect an ethical judgment about the `moral guilt' of the defendant." Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 1038, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986) (Marshall, J., dissenting from the denial of certiorari) (citing Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782......
  • Schiro v. Clark, Civ. No. S83-588.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of Indiana
    • December 26, 1990
    ...Court of Indiana affirmed the denial of post-conviction relief as reported in Schiro v. State., 479 N.E.2d 556 (Ind.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986) (Brennan and Marshall, J., When the second appeal got to the Supreme Court of Indiana in Schiro v. St......
  • Minnick v. Anderson, No. 3:99 CV 157 AS.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court of Northern District of Indiana
    • August 22, 2000
    ...U.S. 1003, 104 S.Ct. 510, 78 L.Ed.2d 699 (1983), Schiro v. State, 479 N.E.2d 556 (Ind.1985) (PCR denied), cert. denied Schiro v. Indiana, 475 U.S. 1036, 106 S.Ct. 1247, 89 L.Ed.2d 355 (1986), Schiro v. State, 533 N.E.2d 1201 (Ind.1989) (PCR denied), cert. denied Schiro v. Indiana, 493 U.S. ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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