Brady v. Maryland

373 U.S. 83 (1963)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Brady (D) and a companion, Boblit, were found guilty of murder in the first degree and were sentenced to death, their convictions being affirmed by the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Their trials were separate. D being tried first. D took the stand and admitted his participation in the crime, but he claimed that Boblit did the actual killing. D's counsel conceded that D was guilty of murder in the first degree, asking only that the jury return that verdict 'without capital punishment.' Prior to the trial, D's counsel had requested the prosecution to allow him to examine Boblit's extrajudicial statements. A statement in which Boblit admitted the actual homicide, was withheld and did not come to D's notice until after he had been tried, convicted, and sentenced, and after his conviction had been affirmed. The crime was murder committed in the perpetration of a robbery. Punishment for that crime is life imprisonment or death, the jury being empowered to restrict the punishment to life by addition of the words 'without capital punishment.'