Entries tagged with “Justin Smith”
Issues
Victims' Families
,May 03, 2021
Kentucky Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty in Cases That Raised Constitutionality of Capital Punishment for Offenders Aged 18 – 21
Kentucky prosecutors have dropped capital charges against two defendants who had challenged the constitutionality of the death penalty for crimes committed by offenders younger than 21 years old. On April 21, 2021, prosecutors announced that they will no longer seek the death penalty against Efrain Diaz, Jr. and Justin Delone Smith, two of the three adolescents accused of the 2015 killing University of Kentucky student Jonathan Krueger. A third co-defendant, Roman Gonzalez, is not eligible for…
Issues
Mar 26, 2020
News Brief — Kentucky Supreme Court Issues Opinions in Cases Involving Applicability of Death Penalty Based on Intellectual Disability, Age of Defendants
NEWS (3/26/20): Kentucky — The Kentucky Supreme Court has issued decisions in two cases presenting significant issues concerning the applicability of the death penalty against defendants with intellectual disability or under the age of 21. In White v. Commonwealth, the court ruled that Larry White — who may be ineligible for the death penalty because of intellectual disability — may not waive a pending appeal claim of intellectually disability that is supported by evidence creating “reasonable…
Issues
Sep 26, 2019
Kentucky Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Raising Death-Penalty Eligibility Age
The Kentucky Supreme Court has heard oral argument and will soon decide whether subjecting youthful offenders under age 21 to the death penalty violates the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. On September 19, 2019, the Court heard argument in the government’s appeals of two capital cases in which a trial judge barred county prosecutors from seeking the death penalty because the defendants charged with the murders were younger than age 21 when the killings took…