After the Supreme Court ruled in the 1970s that the death penalty was unconstitutional based on the way that most state statutes were written,most states re-wrote their death penalty statutes to include a ________,where there was one phase of a trial to decide guilt or innocence and one phase of a trial to decide the punishment.

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The term "bifurcated proceeding" describes a trial with two separate phases: one to determine guilt or innocence and another to determine the punishment. This structure was put in place by many states in response to the Supreme Court's ruling on the unconstitutionality of previous death penalty statutes.

After the Supreme Court Ruled in the 1970s That the Death