Topic > Cynthia Hurst Test Case - 960

“In the Ring case, the court concluded that Arizona's capital sentencing system violated the Apprendi rule because the State allowed a judge to find the facts necessary to sentence a defendant to death." In the Apprendi case the Court held that any fact which "exposes the defendant to a sentence greater than that authorized by the jury's guilty verdict" is an "element" which must be subjected to a judgment