Bivins v. State

DISSENT FROM DENIAL OF REHEARING

SHEPARD, Chief Justice.

In affirming this death penalty case, Bivins v. State (1994), Ind., 642 N.E.2d 928, a majority of the Court declared that the Indiana Bill of Rights prohibited allowing the widow of Biving' victim to speak just twelve lines about the impact of Bivins' crime.

Appellant has challenged this evidence on two grounds, one statutory and one constitutional. This Court held for appellant on constitutional grounds without resolving the statutory claim he presented. In doing so, the majority passed over our long-standing rule that constitutional…