United States v. McCleskey

United States v. McCleskey (1987) was a Supreme Court case addressing whether racial disparities in the application of the death penalty violated the Constitution. McCleskey argued that the system disproportionately sentenced Black defendants to death, citing a study showing racial bias influences sentencing decisions. The Court ruled that, to challenge such disparities, defendants must prove specific intentional discrimination in their case, not just statistical evidence. Ultimately, the Court upheld the death penalty, emphasizing that statistical evidence alone is insufficient to prove constitutional violations, setting a high bar for claims of racial bias in the justice system.