WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The high court’s announcement comes after an appeal was filed on behalf of Shonda Walters, who was given the death sentence in May 2006 after killing her neighbour, The Hill reported on Monday. Walters argued that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment of the US constitution, which prohibits against cruel and unusual punishment.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania for the Eastern District had previously upheld the lower court’s death penalty decision, because it had found the evidence in Walters’ case that supported her conviction for first-degree murder, according to the media outlet.
In the United States, capital punishment is currently legal in 31 states, while the practice of executing inmates has been abolished in the other 19 states. Over 1,400 individuals have been executed in the United States since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
