Fifth Circuit rules on jurors using Bible during sentencing deliberations
Abigail Salisbury reports at Jurist:
The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Thursday refused to grant a writ of habeas corpus to convicted murder Khristian Oliver, who had argued that his Sixth and Eighth Amendment rights were violated when the jury took Bible passages into account when deliberating on his eventual death sentence. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas had made a factual finding that the Bible did not influence the jury’s decision, and the Fifth Circuit held that Oliver did not present clear and convincing evidence rebutting that finding.
Opinion here.