Supreme Court Case: Gregg V. Georgia

Most people inhibit morals and hold different classes of ethics, which plays heavily in choosing between right and wrong or fair and unfair. These decisions grow more difficult as time goes on. When considering which Supreme Court case I wanted to research, the thought of picking the death penalty topic originally swayed me. I did not want to pick such a controversial subject, but I grew more and more intrigued as I read deeper into the case of Gregg vs. Georgia in 1976. The case stirred up many views about capital punishment and allowing a criminal to manipulate the wording of our country’s Constitution to refuse personal responsibility. Throughout the research and trying to form an opinion of the case, I wondered if the death penalty is:
This violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Gregg also claimed his verdict impeded his Constitutional civil rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Since the Furman v. Georgia case a few years prior in 1972 required states to prove reasonable and fair cause to issue the death penalty, the Supreme Court lifted the de facto moratorium when Georgia, along with Florida and Texas at the time, created plans to determine reasonable and fair cause, to put forth the death penalty
Should the death penalty be banned as a form of punishment? Balanced Politics (https://www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm) illustrates proponents and opponent’s points of views. Select adversary viewpoints say “Financial costs to taxpayers of capital punishment is several times that of keeping someone in prison for life. It is barbaric and violates the "cruel and unusual" clause in the Bill of Rights. The endless appeals and required additional procedures clog our court system. Society needs to move away from the "eye for an eye" revenge mentality if civilization is to advance.” Some death penalty advocates say “The death penalty gives closure to the victim's families who have suffered so much. It creates another form of crime deterrent. Justice is better served. Our justice system shows more sympathy for criminals than it does victims.” https://www.balancedpolitics.org/death_penalty.htm Capital punishment comes with large amounts of gray area, so to say I am personally on one side or the either would be unfair. I believe in moving away from the “revenge mentality.” I also don’t believe murder victim’s families ever receive justice after losing a loved one. The death penalty teaches nothing, it’s just a means to an end. Repeating history lingers until society and law adapt better criminal punishment