Shafer v. South Carolina

Shafer v. South Carolina
Argued January 9, 2001
Decided March 20, 2001
Full case nameWesley Aaron Shafer, Jr., Petitioner v. South Carolina
Citations532 U.S. 36 (more)
121 S. Ct. 1263; 149 L. Ed. 2d 178
Case history
PriorOn Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of South Carolina
Holding
Where a capital defendant's future dangerousness is at issue, and the only sentencing alternative to death is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, due process entitles the defendant to inform the jury of his future parole ineligibility.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
David Souter · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
MajorityGinsburg, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Breyer
DissentScalia
DissentThomas
Laws applied
U.S. amend. VIII

Shafer v. South Carolina, 532 U.S. 36 (2001), was a United States Supreme Court case decided in 2001. The case concerned the ability of a defendant to tell the jury that, absent a penalty of death, a penalty of life imprisonment would not permit early release of a prisoner on parole. While the question had been decided in the case of Simmons v. South Carolina, this case dealt with the extent of the ruling.