What was the outcome of McCleskey v. Kemp regarding the equal protection claim?

• A. Rejected
• B. Granted
• C. Remanded
• D. Overturned

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how equal protection is proven when there’s evidence of broad racial disparities. In McCleskey v. Kemp, the Supreme Court held that even a detailed statistical showing that the death penalty is applied more often against certain racial groups does not by itself prove an equal protection violation in a specific defendant’s case. The Court said the petitioner must show that the decision to impose the death penalty was actually influenced by race in his particular instance, or that the law is applied in a discriminatory manner against him. Since the necessary targeted discrimination in his case wasn’t proven, the equal protection claim was rejected. The decision thus leaves the death penalty in place and does not remand or overturn the statute based on that statistical evidence.