Church & State separate ? Not in Colorado

scaeagles · 03-29-2005, 02:45 PM

An interesting tidbit I got in a political emailing that I receive daily -

" In Colorado, jurors in death penalty cases are specifically
told to make a moral judgment, but, the majority on the Colorado Supreme
Court said the Bible was an improper outside influence and an "extraneous
text." The Bible is extraneous to making a moral judgment?

In contrast, the two dissenting judges said the majority was confusing the
Bible with outside influences, such as newspaper articles and television
programs, which are normally to be avoided when a jury deliberates.
Rather, they wrote, "The biblical passages the jurors discussed constituted
either a part of the jurors' moral and religious precepts or their general
knowledge, and thus were relevant to their court sanctioned moral
assessment." "

If the instructions when assessing the death penalty say jurors are to make a "moral judgement" (which I've been unable to confirm, but trust the source of my emailing), then referencing a religious text should not be out of bounds.

03-29-2005, 02:45 PM	#14
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	An interesting tidbit I got in a political emailing that I receive daily - " In Colorado, jurors in death penalty cases are specifically told to make a moral judgment, but, the majority on the Colorado Supreme Court said the Bible was an improper outside influence and an "extraneous text." The Bible is extraneous to making a moral judgment? In contrast, the two dissenting judges said the majority was confusing the Bible with outside influences, such as newspaper articles and television programs, which are normally to be avoided when a jury deliberates. Rather, they wrote, "The biblical passages the jurors discussed constituted either a part of the jurors' moral and religious precepts or their general knowledge, and thus were relevant to their court sanctioned moral assessment." " If the instructions when assessing the death penalty say jurors are to make a "moral judgement" (which I've been unable to confirm, but trust the source of my emailing), then referencing a religious text should not be out of bounds.
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