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Carl Wayne Buntion v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division

IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, No. 20-70004 · judgment December 14, 2020


Certiorari denied · October 4, 2021

Question presented

If neither of the two purposes this Court has deemed to be a legitimate purpose for the death penalty—i.e., retribution and deterrence— would be served by carrying out the execution of a man who has spent thirty years under a sentence of death, would carrying out that execution violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments or amount to an unnecessary infliction of excessive punishment? Is the death penalty as applied in Texas inherently arbitrary and therefore a violation of the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
David R. Dow

For respondent
Cara Blossom Garcia Hanna
Office of the Attorney General of Texas

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Argument & decision

Decided October 4, 2021.

Proceedings

  1. Oct 04 2021
    Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Breyer respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. Aug 05 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  3. Aug 03 2021
    Reply of petitioner Carl Wayne Buntion filed. (Distributed)
  4. Jul 16 2021
    Brief of respondent Bobby Lumpkin, Dir., TX DCJ in opposition filed.
  5. Jun 10 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including July 16, 2021.
  6. Jun 09 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from June 16, 2021 to July 16, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. May 12 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due June 16, 2021)