Panetti v. Quarterman

Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court death-penalty decision concerning competency and rational understanding of execution.

Background

The case reached the Supreme Court through a capital prosecution and required the justices to define how constitutional protections apply when a state seeks or carries out a death sentence. It sits within the modern line of cases interpreting the Eighth Amendment and, where relevant, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Supreme Court ruling

A prisoner must have a rational understanding of the reason for the execution; procedural rules cannot foreclose a substantial competency claim.

Why it matters

The decision became part of the operating constitutional framework for American capital punishment. Later courts, defense lawyers, prosecutors and corrections agencies have had to account for its rule when evaluating death eligibility, sentencing procedure or execution protocols.

Citation

551 U.S. 930 (2007) — decided 2007-06-28.

Sources

– U.S. Supreme Court — Panetti v. Quarterman, 551 U.S. 930 (2007) (opinion via Justia)