A Missouri murder case reaches the United States Supreme Court today, but the double murder of Jim and Zelma Long of DeSoto in 1996 is not the issue. The issue is whether it it constitutional to make prisoners wear shackles that a jury can see during the hearing in which the jury will decide the punishment of a convicted murderer. The man who wore the shackles is Carmen Deck, twice sentenced to die. The State Supreme Court overturned his first conviction and death sentence because of missing jury instructions. After his second conviction, the State Supreme Court riuled it was okay to have Deck in shackles in the courtroom because Deck was a flight risk.
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