Court bans shackling during sentencing

WASHINGTON, May 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday ruled putting a defendant in chains before a jury considering punishment is prejudicial.

The 7-2 decision stemmed from the capital murder conviction of Carman Deck, who was convicted in Missouri of killing of an elderly couple during a robbery. He was sentenced to death.

"The law has long forbidden routine use of visible shackles during the guilt phase; it permits a state to shackle a criminal defendant only in the presence of a special need," Justice Stephen Beyer wrote for the majority.

He added: "We must conclude that courts cannot routinely place defendants in shackles or other physical restraints visible to the jury during the penalty phase of a capital proceeding."

Beyer added, however, the constitutional requirement is not absolute. "It permits a judge ... to take account of special circumstances, including security concerns that may call for shackling," Beyer wrote.

In their dissent, Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia noted Deck already had been convicted of a double murder and modern-day shackles are not the tortuous devices banned by 18th century English courts.