Madison v. Alabama
Vernon Madison was convicted of murdering a police officer and sentenced to death. While he was in prison, he suffered several strokes, which left him with significant cognitive impairments, including dementia. As a result, he currently cannot remember committing the crime. The Court must now determine whether the Eighth Amendment prohibits a state from executing a person whose medical condition leaves him incompetent and prevents him from remembering his conviction.
The classroom case study provides:
- background on the legal issues in the case;
- facts of the case;
- key legal definitions;
- arguments for petitioner and respondent; and
- focus questions for fostering classroom discussion