Jason M. Schoenberg

The death penalty is a constantly debated topic in our society. From the morality of the punishment to its procedural implementation, the United States Supreme Court has rendered countless decisions in an attempt to conform the death penalty to the United States Constitution, specifically the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. While Gregg v. Georgia declared the death penalty constitutional, two requirements must be met before a state's capital punishment statute can pass constitutional scrutiny: guided discretion and individualized sentencing. In addition, several other factors shape the way a state legislature can mold death penalty statutes. While the Supreme Court has not ruled on its preference for a particular scheme, this Note illustrates that the structure adopted by New York ensures the highest degree of equality and fairness for capital defendants.

The New York death penalty statute does not simply meet the constitutional threshold established by the United States Supreme Court but rises above the Court's mandates. Its unique structure and ability to strike a balance between the inherently contradictory constitutional requirements of guided discretion and individualized sentencing allows New York to impose the penalty of death evenhandedly. Moreover, the statute provides for enhanced procedural safeguards neither required by the Supreme Court nor adopted by the majority of the states with death penalty statutes. This combination makes New York's death penalty law statutorily superior to the capital punishment laws of other states.