Sireci v. Florida, 137 S. Ct. 470

Henry Sireci was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1976; he has remained under a death sentence for ~40 years.
The Supreme Court denied Sireci’s petition for certiorari on December 12, 2016; Justice Breyer dissented from the denial.
Breyer’s dissent emphasizes the extraordinary length of delay between sentence and execution and argues such prolonged death-row confinement may be cruel and unusual.
Breyer links Sireci’s case to broader concerns about arbitrariness and the administration of the death penalty, including racial and geographic disparities and prosecutorial variation.
Breyer urges the Court to reconsider the constitutionality of the death penalty and would have granted certiorari (and would have heard related cases, e.g., Broom).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether decades-long delay before execution constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment	Sireci: 40-year delay inflicts prolonged suffering/uncertainty amounting to cruel and unusual punishment	Florida: denial of certiorari implies no accepted review; state enforcement of lawful sentence despite delay	Certiorari denied; Breyer would have granted review and found the delay raises Eighth Amendment concerns
Whether systemic arbitrariness in application of death penalty warrants reconsideration of its constitutionality	Breyer: current practice shows randomness (geography, race, prosecutors) undermining legitimacy	State: execution procedures and case-specific adjudication justify continued use	Certiorari denied; dissent argues this evidence supports full reconsideration
Whether repeated or failed execution attempts (e.g., Broom) present unconstitutional cruelty warranting Supreme Court review	Breyer: botched or repeated attempts (prolonged pain, multiple inflictions) can be cruel and unusual and merit review	State: may attempt another execution after a failed attempt; controversy over whether second attempt is unconstitutional	Breyer would have heard Broom; Court denied certiorari in these matters

In re Medley, 134 U.S. 160 (1890) (recognizing severe mental anguish from awaiting execution)
Kemmler, 136 U.S. 436 (1890) (punishments cruel when they involve lingering death)
Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) (death penalty application can be arbitrary and capricious)
Lackey v. Texas, 514 U.S. 1045 (1995) (memorandum respecting denial of certiorari addressing prolonged death-row confinement)
Knight v. Florida, 528 U.S. 990 (1999) (dissent from denial of certiorari concerning execution delays)
Valle v. Florida, 564 U.S. 1067 (2011) (dissent from denial of stay raising Eighth Amendment concerns)