Daniels v. State

DICKSON, Justice.

Gathers represented an extension of Booth v. Maryland (1987), 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. 2529, 96 L.Ed.2d 440, which held that it was constitutionally impermissible in capital sentencing proceedings to allow a sentencing jury to consider "victim impact statements" involving factors of which a defendant was unaware at the time of the offense. The statements at issue in Booth included descriptions of the victims' character and the emotional impact of the crime on the victims' family. Recognizing that such information may be wholly unrelated to a defendant's blameworthiness and…