State v. Santiago

Summary

This dissent rejects the majority’s conclusion that prospective abolition of the death penalty rendered capital punishment unconstitutional under the Connecticut constitution. It argues that the defendant presented a statutory challenge to the repeal legislation, not a facial challenge to capital punishment, and that the court was required to apply the established multifactor constitutional framework rather than a new hybrid test. The dissent would conclude that the constitutional text, history, precedent, and contemporary conditions do not establish that capital punishment is cruel and unusual or lacks legitimate penological justification.