Boyer v. Davis

Richard Boyer was initially sentenced to death 32 years ago. He now asks us to consider whether the Eighth Amendment allows a State to keep a prisoner incarcerated under threat of execution for so long. Boyer's first trial ended with a mistrial after his jury was unable to reach a verdict. Brief in Opposition 1. Boyer's second trial, in 1984, yielded a conviction and capital sentence that the California Supreme Court reversed on the ground that police officers had obtained evidence by violating his constitutional rights. Ibid. ; see Boyer v. Chappell, 793 F.3d 1092 , 1094, n. 1 (C.A.9 2015) .…