It doesn’t happen often, and I hope it never happens again, but the slim conservative majority on the Supreme Court let me down. I’m betting John Thompson of Louisiana feels the same way. The case was Connick v. Thompson. The Connick is one Harry Connick Sr., the retired district attorney for Orleans Parish. The Thompson is the ill-fated soul mentioned above. He spent 18 years in prison – 14 of them on death row – for the murder of a hotel executive.

Before he was convicted of the murder, he was convicted of attempted armed robbery. The aggravating circumstance of the armed robbery was enough to get Thompson sent to death row.