WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Prosecutors are arguing to the Delaware Supreme Court that the state's capital punishment process is constitutional, despite two recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings that raise questions about the state's law.
Attorneys from the Delaware Department of Justice earlier this week filed a 44-page brief refuting arguments made by public defenders that Delaware's statute is unconstitutional because judges, not juries, have the final say in imposing a death sentence.
In January, a Superior Court judge requested the Delaware Supreme Court weigh in on the current law in light of a federal decision that Florida's capital punishment system is unconstitutional.
Prosecutors say Delaware's death penalty process is different from Florida's struck-down statute, most notably because of a change made by the General Assembly in 2002 regarding aggravating circumstances.
