By AP/KWMU
Washington, DC – The case of a Missouri death row inmate is the focus of debate by the U.S. Supreme Court over whether defendants can be shackled during trial.
Carman Deck's lawyer says Missouri courts allow inmates to be chained while juries consider their fates, even without proof the inmate is a danger.
The Missouri Supreme Court rejected Deck's appeal earlier this year. But the U.S. court agreed to hear arguments in the case next spring.
Deck's attorney says her client was handcuffed with a belly chain and leg irons when on trial for killing an elderly couple in 1996. She says the restraints made him appear dangerous to the jurors.
State prosecutors say Deck was a potential danger as he awaited his fate.