washington supreme court tuesday refuse hear appeal assert death penalty violate u.s. constitution ban cruel unusual punishment file louisiana man convict fatally shoot pregnant former girlfriend two eight justices liberals stephen breyer ruth bad ginsburg say would accept case repeat concern death penalty constitutionality raise different case last year justices sharply disagree among capital punishment decline consider appeal bring lamondre tucker sentence death 2008 murder 18-year-old tavia sills shreveport sills nearly five months pregnant shoot three time body dump pond tucker black argue part black males increase likelihood convict murder sentence death louisiana caddo parish due endemic racism time tucker conviction confederate flag symbol pro-slavery southern state lose u.s. civil war end 1865 fly outside county courthouse lawyers say court file breyer write tucker may well receive death penalty comparative egregiousness crime arbitrary feature case namely geography one could reasonably believe tucker commit crime across red river say bossy parish would death row breyer say breyer comment echo similar remark make june 2015 court uphold oklahoma lethal injection procedures shorthanded court steer clear take major case since february death justice antonin scalia even full strength may accept one indication court close take case would challenge death penalty directly court two liberals sonia sotomayor elena kagan join breyer opinion four vote need justices hear case pregnant sills tell tucker believe father late test show tucker 18 time murder father fetus survive supreme court leave place september 2015 louisiana supreme court rule reject tucker legal arguments uphold conviction death sentence unite state 31 state death penalty 19 supreme court reject constitutional challenge death penalty