Mario Dion Woodward v. Alabama

Pursuant to Ala. C. § 13-A-5-47(e)(1975), Alabama previously allowed trial judges to override a jury’s vote for a life sentence and, based on new evidence, impose the death penalty. Although Alabama’s courts steadfastly have held otherwise, this judicial capital sentencing process conflicts with the reasoning and holding in Hurst v. Florida, 577 U.S. , 136 S. Ct. 616 (2016). Now, Alabama’s override statute has been repealed, but the state has elected not to apply its repealer retroactively. The death sentence imposed by judicial override in this case accordingly raises two dispositive questions:

1. Does the imposition of a death sentence through judicial override under a now-repealed statute violate the constitutional guarantees implemented by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments?

2. Does a trial judge’s override of a jury’s life sentence and imposition of a death sentence based on evidence not considered by the jury violate the constitutional guarantees implemented by the Sixth Amendment?