Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459 (1947) Case

In the United States, capital punishment is a legal punishment in many states, the military, and the federal government. The existence of capital punishment can be traced back to the start of the American colonies. Capital punishment, which is also called the death penalty, is a practice that is government-sanctioned whereby a person is punished for a crime by being killed by the state. The act of carrying out this act is known as execution. The US Supreme Court has issued many rulings over the past on capital punishment. While some of the rulings applied to the only one person, in other cases, it influenced broad areas of the method of execution, acceptable evidence, eligible crimes, and the procedure. The discussion in this paper is on one of the Supreme Court cases concerning capital punishment.

This is a case that asked the US Supreme Court whether imposing capital punishment for the second time after the first attempt failed was a violation of the US constitution. The petitioner (Willie Francis), was a 16-year old black American who was convicted in a state court of murder in Louisiana and he was sentenced to death. A warrant for the execution was issued duly. On the day of execution, he was prepared and placed in the electric chair. Willie Francis was subjected to shock by the executor, but due to malfunction of the electric chair, the shock intended to kill him did not kill him (Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber). Due to the mechanical difficulty, the electric chair required a repair. Willie Francis was removed from the chair, and he was returned to prison. However, another warrant was later issued for him to be executed. He sought to prevent the second execution attempt. The best friend of the man Willie Francis has murdered, a local attorney Bertrand DeBlanc volunteered to get the death sentence vacated. Willie Francis was represented by Bertrand DeBlanc and J. Skelly Wright, a young lawyer who was just starting his law practice. In the appeal, Bertrand DeBlanc laid defenses one challenging the original conviction and three challenging the execution. The petitioner, in this case, was Louisiana ex rel. Francis and the respondent was Resweber. The issues raised in this case surrounded the 5th Amendment clause on double jeopardy, and the 8th Amendment clause on cruel and unusual punishment, as made applicable by the 14th Amendment clause on due process (Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber).

DeBlanc’s argument was that a second execution was prevented buy the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution. The second execution would violate the 5th Amendments’ double jeopardy clause since the first sentence had been carried out. According to the clause, ”[N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb” (Lawson 611). According to the Eighth Amendment on cruel and unusual punishment, punishment must not be unusual nor cruel and must fit the crime (Nobriga 370). DeBlanc also contended that the 14th Amendment clause on equal protection requires everyone to be treated equally under the law. Since others had not suffered the fate of Willie Francis, DeBlanc argued that Willie Francis was being unequally treated.

The petitioner’s applications were denied by the Supreme Court of Louisiana for mandamus, writs of certiorari, habeas corpus, and prohibition to prevent a second execution. Following Justice Stanley Forman Reed’s opinion, which was joined by three other justices, Justice Robert H. Jackson, Justice Hugo Black and Chief Justice Vinson, the court held that re-execution of Willie Francis did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment or double jeopardy. The application was denied on the ground that it lacked a basis for judicial relief. According to Justice Reed, the mental strain of facing execution for the second time and the suffering caused by the botched execution, though it was terrible, was as a result of an unfortunate and unseen accident but not caused by any wanton infliction of pain. Justice Reed also argued that bad things happen even when the law states they should not. In other words, the law cannot shield bad things from happening. Willie Francis was executed successfully the following year.

One of the justices in the case, Justice Felix Frankfurter, attempted to save Willie Francis from a second execution through secret political action, despite that he was not willing to do so as a judge. Justice Felix Frankfurter cast a vote in favor of a second execution but secretly attempted to get executive clemency from the governor of Louisiana, to reverse the decision of the court (Del Carmen et al. 41). It was reported that the governor of Louisiana got thousands of postcards, telegrams, and letter from all over the United States in the week after the failed execution, urging for clemency. One of these mails was from Justice Felix Frankfurter and four of his colleagues.

Why and How this Case is Important

Capital punishment is a matter of debate in the United States of America. The US Supreme Court has issued many rulings on capital punishment and Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459 (1947) case is one of them. These rulings have influenced the method of execution, acceptable evidence, eligible crimes, and the procedures. Willie Francis’ case is important in the history of the United States of America because it contributed to the clarification of the 5th Amendment clause on double jeopardy, the 8th Amendment clause on cruel and unusual punishment, and the 14th Amendment clause on due process. It also contributed to providing clarification on the issue of second execution after the first execution has failed. Due to its contribution to the American history of capital punishment, this case is important to the history of America. It contributed to the clarification of the procedure of capital punishment.

I chose this case over the others because capital punishment is an issue of controversy in the United Stated with many individuals and prominent organizations participating in the debate. Most individuals and organizations that oppose capital punishment oppose the act on moral grounds. Advocates of capital punishment argue that punishment deters crime and improves the community through recidivism elimination. In the past, there have been many botched executions which have resulted in public uproar. Due to the increased number of botched executions, Americans have the opinion that the death penalty in a cruel and unusual punishment and this has heated the debate over the past. Due to the controversy of the issue, I was driven to choose this case over other cases.