WILEY v. MISSISSIPPI, 479 U.S. 906 (1986)
U.S. Supreme Court
WILEY v. MISSISSIPPI , 479 U.S. 906 (1986)479 U.S. 906
William WILEY
v.
MISSISSIPPI
No. 85-7189
Supreme Court of the United States
October 14, 1986
Rehearing Denied Dec. 1, 1986. See ___U.S.___.
On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
Justice MARSHALL, with whom Justice BRENNAN joins, dissenting from denial of certiorari.
Petitioner was sentenced to death by a jury whose sentencing determination was biased impermissibly in favor of death. Because I believe that, under this Court's decisions in Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420 (1980) and Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862 (1983), the fact that a murder was committed during the course of a robbery cannot serve both as an element of the capital offense and as the factual predicate for two statutory aggravating circumstances, I would grant certiorari in this case. [ Wiley v. Mississippi 479 U.S. 906 (1986) ][906-Continued.]
Petitioner William Wiley was convicted of a murder committed during a robbery and was sentenced to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the jury's determination of guilt, but remanded for resentencing due to the prosecutor's improper references to appellate review. Wiley v. State, 449 So. 2d 756 (Miss.1984). At the second sentencing proceeding, petitioner once again received a sentence of death. The jury found three statutory aggravating circumstances and insufficient mitigating circumstances to outweigh the aggravating circumstances. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed petitioner's conviction and death sentence, with three justices concurring in the judgment. Wiley v. State, 484 So. 2d 339 ( Miss.1986).
Under Mississippi law, all murder is not capital murder. The death sentence may be imposed only where the murder falls into one of seven narrowly defined classes. Miss. Code Ann. 97-3-19(2)(a)-(g) (Supp.1985 ). Petitioner was convicted under a section of the statute that classifies murder committed by a person engaged in a robbery as capital murder. Miss. Code Ann. 97-3-19(2)(e) (Supp.1985). Once the jury found him guilty of the capital offense, it then had to find at least one aggravating circumstance, in order to impose the death penalty. See Miss. Code Ann. 99-19-101(5)(a)-(h) (Supp.1985) (listing aggravating circumstances). In this case, the jury found three statutory aggravating circumstances: "[t]he capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged . . . in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, any robbery," "[t]he capital offense was committed for pecuniary gain," and "[ t]he capital offense was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." Miss. Code Ann. 99-19-101(5)(d), (e) and (h) (Supp.1985). Two of these circumstances-that the offense was committed while petitioner was engaged in a robbery, and that it was committed for pe-
cuniary gain-would automatically be present in any killing that took place during a robbery.
Under Mississippi's sentencing scheme, as applied in this case,
all persons convicted of robbery-murder enter the sentencing phase
with two built-in aggravating circumstances, creating a strong
presumption in favor of death. In cases where no mitigating or
additional aggravating evidence is introduced, these aggravating
circumstances have not narrowed the class of death-eligible persons
at all. See Roberts v. Louisiana, 428 U.S.
325, 337, 3008 (1976) (plurality opinion) ( mandatory death
sentences even for narrowly defined category of murders held
unconstitutional). I believe that the use of aggravating factors
which repeat an element of the underlying capital offense creates a
substantial risk that death will be inflicted in an arbitrary and
capricious manner. [Footnote 1]
[479 U.S. 906 ,
908]
U.S. Supreme Court
WILEY v. MISSISSIPPI , 479 U.S. 906 (1986) 479 U.S. 906 William WILEYv.
MISSISSIPPI
No. 85-7189 Supreme Court of the United States October 14, 1986 Rehearing Denied Dec. 1, 1986. See ___U.S.___. On petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of Mississippi. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied. Justice MARSHALL, with whom Justice BRENNAN joins, dissenting from denial of certiorari. Petitioner was sentenced to death by a jury whose sentencing determination was biased impermissibly in favor of death. Because I believe that, under this Court's decisions in Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420 (1980) and Zant v. Stephens, 462 U.S. 862 (1983), the fact that a murder was committed during the course of a robbery cannot serve both as an element of the capital offense and as the factual predicate for two statutory aggravating circumstances, I would grant certiorari in this case. [ Wiley v. Mississippi 479 U.S. 906 (1986) ][906-Continued.] Petitioner William Wiley was convicted of a murder committed during a robbery and was sentenced to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the jury's determination of guilt, but remanded for resentencing due to the prosecutor's improper references to appellate review. Wiley v. State, 449 So. 2d 756 (Miss.1984). At the second sentencing proceeding, petitioner once again received a sentence of death. The jury found three statutory aggravating circumstances and insufficient mitigating circumstances to outweigh the aggravating circumstances. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed petitioner's conviction and death sentence, with three justices concurring in the judgment. Wiley v. State, 484 So. 2d 339 ( Miss.1986). Under Mississippi law, all murder is not capital murder. The death sentence may be imposed only where the murder falls into one of seven narrowly defined classes. Miss. Code Ann. 97-3-19(2)(a)-(g) (Supp.1985 ). Petitioner was convicted under a section of the statute that classifies murder committed by a person engaged in a robbery as capital murder. Miss. Code Ann. 97-3-19(2)(e) (Supp.1985). Once the jury found him guilty of the capital offense, it then had to find at least one aggravating circumstance, in order to impose the death penalty. See Miss. Code Ann. 99-19-101(5)(a)-(h) (Supp.1985) (listing aggravating circumstances). In this case, the jury found three statutory aggravating circumstances: "[t]he capital offense was committed while the defendant was engaged . . . in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, any robbery," "[t]he capital offense was committed for pecuniary gain," and "[ t]he capital offense was especially heinous, atrocious or cruel." Miss. Code Ann. 99-19-101(5)(d), (e) and (h) (Supp.1985). Two of these circumstances-that the offense was committed while petitioner was engaged in a robbery, and that it was committed for pe- Page 479 U.S. 906 , 907 cuniary gain-would automatically be present in any killing that took place during a robbery.