As the last plea available to the capital defendant, mercy is an important principle that moderates the harsh and irreversible consequences of the death penalty. The Supreme Court has concluded that legislative draftsmanship of the death penalty statutes cannot intrude on the role of the jury to make an individual assessment of each case. The court has also determined that a jury must be allowed broad discretion to rule on the ultimate question of death in each case and each time the State proposes to take a human life. Finally, the Court has mandated that the sentencing authority's focus always be on the defendant as a uniquely individual human being. By allowing the sentencer to determine ultimately whether a person within a statutory classification deserving the death sentence should die, the Court has created a final check against wrongful executions. 126 footnotes.