California Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty Statute

In a unanimous ruling issued on August 26, 2021 in the case of People v. McDaniel, the California Supreme Court upheld the state's death penalty statute in a challenge based on a deadlocked jury in the initial trial. The attorneys for Don'te Lamont McDaniel, who was convicted for gang-related murders in 2008, had argued in his automatic death sentence appeal that the jury having deadlocked over the existence of an aggravating circumstance raised issues of lack of unanimity and reasonable doubt. However, the Court held that "jury unanimity on the existence of aggravating circumstances is not required under the state constitution." Had the Court found in McDaniel's favor, hundreds of death sentences in California might have been overturned. See Death Penalty Information Center, Courthouse News Service.