Ideological leanings of United States Supreme Court justices

• Palm Springs, California, July 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Palm Springs philanthropist and businessman Harold Matzner was honored with the Key to the City at the Palm Springs’ 85th Anniversary Celebration.
• Following the conclusion of the City’s “Cruising Through the Years” 85th Anniversary Classic Car Parade, Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner presented Harold Matzner with a golden “Key to the City” at the Marilyn Monroe Statue in downtown Palm Springs, according to HNM Group.
• The Keys are presented to individuals with a uniquely special connection to the City of Palm Springs – and are a rare occurrence.
• It is a true celebration.”
  Mayor Garner talked about Harold Matzner’s unique contributions to the City of Palm Springs.

• When the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board decided not to recommend clemency for death row inmate Richard Glossip, the case highlighted the role clemency plays in the death penalty system.
• Glossip had asked the board to commute the sentence he had been given for his role in an alleged murder-for-hire plot.
• He was convicted of paying his co-defendant, Justin Sneed, to kill Barry Van Treese in 1997.
• The board, which met April 26, 2023, was split 2-2 over recommending that Glossip’s sentence be changed to life in prison.

The role of the attorney general

• In Oklahoma, family members of the victim are also given time to make their views known.
• In 1998, the U.S. Supreme Court gave its approval to that kind of procedure when it held that clemency hearings must afford due process to the participants.
• “I’m not aware of any time in our history that an attorney general has appeared before this board and argued for clemency.

Clemency as grace – or justice

• In United States v. Wilson, a decision from 1833 and the first case about clemency to be decided by the United States Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall made that distinction clear.
• Instead of equating clemency and justice, he called clemency an “act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws.” Clemency, Marshall continued, “exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed.
• It is … delivered to the individual for whose benefit it is intended, and not communicated officially to the court.” A little more than 20 years after Marshall wrote that, another Supreme Court justice, James Wayne, reinforced this separation of clemency and justice.
• Clemency hearings are now generally just another arena to which inmates like Richard Glossip can appeal for justice.

Clemency is rare in capital cases

• But, from the perspective of clemency’s recent record in capital cases, the result should not have been surprising.
• As my research has shown, a century ago clemency was granted in about 25% of capital cases.
• In the same period, more than 1,500 cases have proceeded to execution.” While the center does not indicate how often clemency was sought in those cases, requesting clemency is often a standard part of the efforts death penalty defense lawyers make to try to save their clients.
• It is hard to get clemency in capital cases because, as the center explains, “Governors are subject to political influence, and even granting a single clemency can result in harsh attacks.” As a result, “clemencies in death penalty cases have been unpredictable and immune from review.” And what is true nationwide is also true in Oklahoma where during the past half-century there have been only five grants of clemency in capital cases.

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• Abell Auction Co. is proud to present the estate of Larry Flynt (19422021), the iconic public figure who helmed the HUSTLER empire and worked tirelessly to expand the parameters of free speech in America.
• The online auction will be held on Tuesday, December 13 at 9 a.m. PST.
• View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221201005344/en/
  This Christmas photo of Larry Flynt and his wife Elizabeth Berrios was taken at the Los Angeles headquarters of Larry Flynt Publications in 2008.
• Abell Auction Co. will offer treasured items from the Flynt estate at its December 13 online sale.