The Death Penalty: Furman V. Georgia

There has been a great deal of controversy over whether or not the the death penalty should be abolished. There had been many supreme cases involving the death penalty. people view the death penalty as cruel because it seems excessive or as in inescapable consequence of death. There’s also the belief that the death penalty defers murder because people fear death. Society has developed more humane ways of carried out capital punishment. Furman v. Georgia and Gregg v. Georgia are two significant cases that change the view of the issues that related to the death penalty which are racial discrimination, mentally impaired, juveniles, due process and lethal injection. Furman v. Georgia (1972) was the Landmark Supreme Court ruling which effectively
The twenty-five-year-old Furman claimed his gun went off accidentally when he tripped over a wire in leaving the house. Largely based on his testimony, a jury found him guilty of murder and sentence him to death by the electric chair. Furman appealed his conviction and sentence. The Georgia supreme court affirmed both on April 24, 1969. On may 3, however, the court stayed Furman’s execution so Furman could appeal to the U.S. Supreme court. Because Furman’s case attracted a lot of public opinions, several lawyers decided to help the appeal. His Lawyers said the death penalty was cruel and unusual for several reasons. At the time, Juries receive no guidance about choosing the death penalty. They simply listened to the evidence of guilt or innocence and decided whether the defendant deserved to die. Studies showed that juries acted randomly when choosing the death penalty. In cases that were similar, some defendants got the death penalty while others just went to
While the death penalty was later reinstating and ruled constitutional by the supreme court, there is no longer an arbitrariness to the death penalty and states have reevaluated their status for capital offenses and have reduced juror discretion.
Gregg v. Georgia (1976) – A crucial ruling which upheld the use of the death penalty. Troy Leon Gregg was found guilty of murdering two people, during his trial he was sentence to death. However, Gregg would not have his sentence, he argued that the court decision was unconstitutional violating his eighth and fourteen amendments right. The case was sent to the supreme court, the problem that the supreme court face was whether or not what Gregg has done was worth sentence to death and if his sentence violated his rights.
On a 7-2 vote, the supreme court decided that the death penalty for the crime of murder did not violet the eight and fourteen amendment. Justice Stewart, Justice Powell, and Justice Stevens concluded that “The existence of capital punishment was accepted by the Framers of the Constitution, and for nearly two centuries this Court has recognized that capital punishment for the crime of murder is not invalid per se” (Gregg v. Georgia), our framers validated the use of capital