Dunn v. Ray

Dunn v. Ray, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), was a February 2019 United States Supreme Court case related to religious freedom. The case attracted notable media attention in early February 2019. Defendant Domineque Hakim Marcelle Ray (May 31, 1976 – February 7, 2019), an Alabama death row inmate scheduled for execution on February 7, 2019, argued that he had the right to have a Muslim imam present in the death chamber, instead of the Christian chaplain mandated by Alabama's execution protocol. Ray received a stay from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals the day before his execution, however Alabama moved for the Supreme Court to vacate the stay of execution. The Supreme Court vacated the stay and Ray was executed on his scheduled date.[1][2]

The ruling was criticized by many commentators.[3]

On March 28, 2019, less than two months after Ray's execution, the Supreme Court stayed the execution of Patrick Murphy in Texas over concerns that not allowing him to have a Buddhist spiritual advisor instead of the mandated Christian chaplain would violate his Constitutional rights. The ruling on Murphy renewed attention to Ray's case due to the similarity and proximity of the cases[4] and the lack of explanation from justices Alito, Kavanaugh and Roberts for their latest positions.[5]

Background

Ray had been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl, and had been given a life sentence for the murders of two brothers.

In February 1994, Ray shot and killed brothers Reinhard and Ernest Mabins, after they refused to join a gang he led. On July 15, 1995, Ray and an accomplice, Marcus Owden, kidnapped 15-year-old Tiffany Harville from her home in Selma, Alabama. Ray raped and murdered her and cut her throat with a knife according to Owden's trial testimony. Harville's body was found abandoned in a field in Dallas County a month after she disappeared.[6]

Owden testified against Ray and he was convicted in 1999. Owden was sentenced to life in prison, while Ray received a death sentence, when jurors voted 11–1 to recommend the death penalty.[7]

See also

References
  1. Liptak, Adam (7 February 2019). "Justices Allow Execution of Muslim Death Row Inmate Who Sought Imam". The New York Times.
  2. Stohr, Greg (7 February 2019). "High Court Lets Alabama Execute Muslim Without Imam in Chamber". Bloomberg Law.
  3. S.M. (12 February 2019). "Why did the Supreme Court deny a Muslim's plea for an imam at his execution?". The Economist.
  4. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/supreme-court-blocks-execution-of-man-denied-buddhist-adviser-decision-was-different-in-muslim-case
  5. S.M. (29 March 2019). "The Supreme Court grants a Buddhist's plea for a spiritual adviser at his execution". The Economist.
  6. "RAY v. STATE". FindLaw. February 4, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  7. "Execution set for Alabama inmate convicted of killing teen". Associated Press. November 9, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  • Dunn v. Ray, 586 (U.S. 2019).


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