Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Capital Punishment Decision

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MAY 3, 1971 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

STATEMENT ON U.S. SUPREME COURT 

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DECISION 

The U.S. Supreme Court today decided in a 6-3 decision to 
uphold the legality of capital punishment in two cases, 
McGautha v. California, and Crampton v. Ohio, which contested the 
constitutionality of the following procedures: 

1) the law provides no legal standards for 
the choice between life and death 
leaving the decision to the unfettered and 
arbitrary discretion of the jury. 

2) the determinations of both guilt and 

penalty at the same time by the 

same jury forces the defendants either 

to refrain from placing evidence in 

mitigation on the penalty question 

before the jury, or to give up the 
privilege against self-incrimination 
on the guilt issue. 

After learning of the decision, Jack Greenberg, Director-Counsel 
of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. made the 
following statement: 

"The Legal Defense Fund represents more than half 

of the 648 men and women on death row throughout the 

country. As a result of our campaign, there has not 

been an execution for almost four years. Our capital 

punishment campaign arises out of the fact that 

virtually every occupant of death row is poor, and 

a grossly disproportionate number are black or of 

other minorities. 

We have called today a national conference on capital 

punishment to be held at the Columbia University Law 

School, May 15-16. At this conference will be lawyers 

representing men and women on death row in every state 

(more) 

CP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. | 10 Columbus Circle | New York, N.Y. 10019 | (212) 586-839: ec 
illiam T. Coleman, Jr. - President 

Jack Greenberg - Director-Couns: 



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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT DEC. 

PAGE TWO 

which retains the death penalty. In collaboration 

with these lawyers we will present to the courts 

the constitutional issues which the Supreme Court 

has not yet decided which we hope will result in 

declaring invalid the procedures by which the death 

penalty is invoked and, indeed, capital punishment 

itself. 

The remaining issues involve questions of cruel 

and unusual punishment, whether jurors who must 

declare they have no scruples against capital 

punishment tend to favor the prosecution, whether 

men on death row are entitled to counsel right up 

to the moment of their death, and other profoundly 

important questions." 

For further information contact: Jack Himmelstein 

Jeffrey Mintz or 

Sandy O'Gorman 

(212) 586-8397