Robert Allen Poyson v. Arizona
DueProcess Punishment
Is the individualized capital sentencing requirement guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment violated when a State predetermines that in all cases only minimal weight is to be afforded non-statutory mitigation?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Is the individualized capital sentencing requirement guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment violated when a State—whether by statute or courtimposed rule—predetermines that in all cases only minimal weight is to be afforded non-statutory mitigation, alleged to lack a causal nexus to the capital offense? 2. Whether the Arizona Supreme Court’s review of a death sentence satisfies the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments where it fails to consider whether the State has proved an aggravating factor? li