Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is arguing in a legal brief that a Texas jury's use of the Bible did not taint deliberations in a death penalty case.
Khristian Oliver was found guilty and sentenced to death for killing an East Texas farmer during a home invasion nearly a decade ago. However, Oliver's attorney claims the death sentence should be overturned because several jury members brought Bibles and consulted scripture in the deliberation room. But attorneys with the Foundation for Moral Law -- headed by Judge Moore -- have argued in a brief that the jury's consultation of Bible passages did not taint the jury in violation of the Sixth Amendment. Furthermore, Moore states the murderer's argument reflects a trend in society. "It's all about one single, solitary thing ... eliminating the knowledge of God from society," argues Moore. "It's not about the Bible, the Ten Commandments, or prayer in a school classroom .... They're simply saying that if a person considers a belief toward God in his jury deliberations, the case must be reversed." Moore continues his argument by stating that the evidence in the case proves that Oliver beat the farmer to death, and that the farmer was beaten so badly his face was unrecognizable. He also cites a 1952 Supreme Court ruling that recognized Americans are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a supreme being -- one of those institutions being the jury system. The brief asks the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reject Oliver's claims as constitutionally, historically, and logically baseless.
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