Entries tagged with “Jeffrey Hessler”
Issues
Apr 08, 2020
Nebraska Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to State’s Capital Sentencing Procedures
The Nebraska Supreme Court has upheld the state’s death penalty law against a claim that its death-sentencing procedure violates capital defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial. In a decision issued on April 3, 2020, the court unanimously affirmed a trial court ruling dismissing death-row prisoner Jeffrey Hessler’s challenge to the state’s three-judge capital sentencing process. Under Nebraska law, if a defendant is convicted of capital murder, a jury determines whether aggravating…
Research
Apr 01, 2020
Capital Case Roundup — Court Rulings the Week of March 30, 2020
Nebraska (4/3/20) — In a state post-conviction appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the state’s capital sentencing process filed by death-row prisoner Jeffrey Hessler. Hessler argued that Nebraska’s three-judge sentencing proceedings violated his Sixth Amendment right to have a jury determine all facts necessary for a death sentence to be imposed. The court ruled that Hessler’s argument was untimely and therefore procedurally barred, and added that under the recent U.S.