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Slavic_Dusa OP t1_j073iq1 wrote

Reply to comment by queue1102 in Oregon governor commutes all 17 of state's death sentences by Slavic_Dusa

Jurors don't get to decide what the punishment is. That is what judges do. Jurors' job is to say if they think a person committed a crime or not.

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FNboy t1_j088phx wrote

This is not true. The criminal trial is is two phases - the first determines guilt or innocence based on the charged crimes. The second phase is punishment, and a unanimous verdict must be reached to commit someone to death.

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queue1102 t1_j07s234 wrote

According to justice.gov, you are incorrect. https://www.justice.gov/usao/justice-101/sentencing See also, 18 U.S.C. 3593-94. Additionally, in Oregon, it requires unanimous juror consent to issue the death penalty, so 204 citizens were wronged.

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GoPointers t1_j09q8rr wrote

Oregon used to allow for nonunanimous juries in felony trials but that just recently changed. I'm not sure if that included capital punishment.

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