In Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808 (1991), after the defendant had been convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to commit murder in the first-degree, the grandmother testified during the sentencing penalty phase about the crime's impact on the surviving child-victim after the murders of his mother and sister. Id. at 814-16. The jury sentenced the defendant to death. Id. at 816. On review, the United States Supreme Court, in considering the victim impact issue, stated: A State may properly conclude that for the jury to assess meaningfully the defendant's moral culpability and blameworthiness, it should have before it at the sentencing phase evidence of the specific harm caused by the defendant. "The State has a legitimate interest in counteracting the mitigating evidence which the defendant is entitled to put in, by reminding the sentencer that just as the murderer should be considered as an individual, so too the victim is an individual whose death represents a unique loss to society and in particular to his family." Id. at 825. Consequently, and contrary to the trial court's analysis, the Supreme Court held that "if the State chooses to permit the admission of victim impact evidence . . ., the Eighth Amendment 9 erects no per se bar." Id. at 827. The United States Supreme Court held "that evidence about the victim and about the impact of the murder on the victim's family is relevant to the jury's decision as to whether or not the death penalty should be imposed." The Supreme Court recognized the possibility that "unduly prejudicial evidence" might be introduced and held that the Due Process Clause would provide a mechanism for relief under those circumstances. Id. at 825. The Court acknowledged that stare decisis is not absolute, especially in constitutional cases: "Stare decisis is not an inexorable command; rather, it 'is a principle of policy and not a mechanical formula of adherence to the latest decision.' This is particularly true in constitutional cases, because in such cases 'correction through legislative action is practically impossible.'" Id. at 828.