Does it violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to execute an individual who does not meet the eligibility criteria for a sentence of death under state law?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Court should grant the concurrently filed petition for certiorari, vacate the decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA”), and remand for further proceedings on the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment claims raised therein. See Andrus v. Texas, 590 U.S. 806 (1998). If that petition is denied, however, Mr. Gonzales respectfully requests that the exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction and review the merits of this case. The questions presented are: (1) Does it violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution to execute an individual who does not meet the eligibility criteria for a sentence of death under state law? (2) When a state conditions a capital defendant’s eligibility to be sentenced to death on a jury’s determination of “future dangerousness,” can the state refuse to recognize challenges to the accuracy of the jury’s determination as cognizable grounds for post-conviction review? 1