ACLU of Delaware has confirmed that the news you have read is true: Powell v. State set the precedent for Rauf v. State to be applied retroactively, meaning Death Row will be a thing of the past and those who were living there will serve life sentences. You may recall that the fate of those on Death Row was not clear after the Delaware Supreme Court ruled the state's death penalty statue unconstitutional in August (Rauf). Now, we know that they will not be executed.
From The News Journal:
Twelve men on Delaware's death row will no longer be executed after the state Supreme Court found its ruling declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional should be applied retroactively.
The unanimous 15-page decision released Thursday only mentions the state's youngest death row inmate, Derrick Powell, but will apply to all the defendants sentenced to death. They will now be sentenced to life in prison without probation, parole or any other sentence reduction.
Brendan O'Neill, the state's chief defender, and Powell's attorney, Patrick Collins, applauded the decision.
Read the rest of the story in The News Journal.
