Scalia Recuses Self From Capital Murder Case, Citing Double Homicide He Committed in '80s

WASHINGTON—Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia recused himself from a capital murder case heard Monday, acknowledging his impartiality could be called into question due to the double homicide he committed in 1986. "Considering my own brutal murder of two innocent people 25 years ago, there are some who might cast doubt upon the court were I to help decide this defendant's guilt or innocence," Scalia said in reference to the incident in which he viciously beat and murdered two elderly owners of a mom-and-pop convenience store before placing their dismembered remains in plastic trash bags and throwing them off a bridge.

"While I person­ally believe myself capable of ruling on this matter without bias, judicial propriety dictates I disqualify myself." Also recusing himself is Justice Clarence Thomas, who is the defendant in the case and widely believed to have committed the murder in question.