On January 12, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order declining to review a lower court’s decision that prohibits a crime victim from recommending an appropriate punishment in a capital case. The decision was a setback for WLF, which on September 22, 2003 filed a brief urging the Court to review (and ultimately overturn) the lower court decision. The petitioner in this case witnessed his wife’s murder. He then sought to testify at the penalty phase of the killer’s trial; he wanted to recommend that the killer be sentenced to life imprisonment rather than death. The trial court excluded his testimony, ruling that the Constitution bars victims from providing sentence recommendations. WLF argued that a victim’s views on sentencing are highly relevant in determining a just punishment, and thus should not be excluded.