This week, a state supreme court held that the death penalty is unconstitutional — and banned all executions in the State of Connecticut. However, the holding is fact-specific to the situation in Connecticut. Three years ago, the state abolished capital punishment — but there were men sitting on Death Row already.

Connecticut Death Row Inmates Win Appeal

So, one of the Death Row inmates filed an appeal, arguing that it was unconstitutional for his execution to not be barred now that the same crime for which he had been sentenced to death would no longer be eligible for capital punishment in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Supreme Court agreed. Read the opinion here.

The Connecticut opinion does more than rule on the situation of what to do about the state’s remaining Death Row inmates, though. It also discusses the death penalty in general and contains arguments against this form of punishment, with language like “… no longer comports with contemporary standards of decency and no longer serves any legitimate penological purpose.”

Those advocating against the continued use of the death penalty in the United States might find this of particular interest.