Supreme Court of the United States June 2, 1997, No. 96-8334 (Bethley v. Louisiana)

Sup. Ct. La. Certio-rari denied.

Statement of

Justice Stevens,

with whom Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer join,

respecting the denial of certiorari.

It is well settled that our decision to deny a petition for writ of certiorari does not in any sense constitute a ruling on the merits of the case in which the writ is sought. United States v. Carver, 260 U. S. 482, 490 (1923). See Singleton v.