Payne v. Tennessee - Significance

A defendant's rights under the Constitution are a vital safeguard against a miscarriage of justice, particularly in a capital trial. In Payne v. Tennessee, the Supreme Court of Tennessee overturned an earlier U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred victim impact evidence in deciding the death sentence. By allowing victim impact evidence at the sentencing phase, this case caused much debate regarding both victims' rights, and the rights of the defendant under the following: the Eighth Amendment forbidding cruel and unusual punishment; the Fourteenth Amendment demanding due process under the law to all persons; the Sixth Amendment allowing a defendant to confront witnesses; and the Constitution's Equal Protection Clause prohibiting comparative judgments of the worth of victims.