Home > Great American Court Cases > Lockett v. Ohio

Legal Citation: 438 U.S. 586 (1978)

Petitioner
Sandra Lockett

Respondent
State of Ohio

Petitioner's Claim
That the Ohio death penalty statute—which limited the number of mitigating factors that a judge passing sentence could take into account—was unconstitutional.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Anthony G. Amsterdam

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Carl M. Layman III

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart

Justices Dissenting
William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White (William J. Brennan, Jr. did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
3 July 1978

Decision
That the death penalty is so severe, it requires greater reliability than...