Vargas v. Metzger

The reasoning upon which appellant’s claim of illegal confinement is based begins with the conclusion that the effect of Furman v. Georgia (1972), 408 U. S. 238, renders void Ohio’s first degree murder statute, R. C. 2901.012, in its entirety.

Although Furman is difficult to interpret, since in that decision nine justices wrote variously in concurrence and dissent, with five concurring in the additional brief per curiam, the net result is that when one is on trial for his life, and discretion rests in the trier of facts as to whether the defendant is to be executed or granted life…