In Brief
The Supreme Court reconsidered its earlier order restricting open court hearings on review petitions in death penalty cases. The earlier judgment had granted such hearings only to pending or newly filed cases, and to cases where review was dismissed but execution had not occurred. It excluded cases where a curative petition had also been dismissed. This review petition challenged that exclusion. The Court held that a prior curative petition dismissal should not deny a death-sentenced convict the right to an open court hearing on their review petition, as curative petitions address only limited procedural grounds and do not review substantive merits. The Court allowed the petition and permitted the convict to seek reopening of his review petition for an open court hearing and to raise additional grounds."
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