Death Penalty: Furman V. Georgia In 1972

Capital Punishment, also known as the Death Penalty, has been a part of the United State’s justice system for the majority of the country’s existence. Today, 31 out of the 50 states still recognize the death penalty as a viable option when dealing with high profile crimes, most notably murder and sexual assault. While many people argue that the death penalty should be made illegal, there is also widespread support in favor of keeping the death penalty, leaving the nation divided on the issue. Both sides of the argument possess valid evidence that supports their claims, but in the end, the arguments in favor of the death penalty are noticeably stronger. The death penalty is an appropriate sentence that should continue to be allowed in the

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

In David M. Oshinsky’s book, Capital Punishment on Trial: Furman v. Georgia and the Death Penalty in Modern America, he discussed the case of Furman v. Georgia. He explores the controversy that capital punishment holds in the United States of America. The death penalty has been in practice for many centuries. For example, “In Massachusetts, where religion had played a key role in settlement, crimes like blasphemy, witchcraft, sodomy, adultery, and incest became capital offenses, through juries sometimes hesitated to convict” (Oshinsky, 2010). For the punishment of death these offenses do not fit the crime. However, capital punishment at this time was rarely criticized. The death penalty demanded many executions including public ones. Many of these were hangings and were public events. After the American Revolution the death penalty began to be questioned. For example, Benjamin Rush stated, “Capital punishments are the offspring of monarchial governments. Kings believe that they possess their crowns by a divine right. They assume the divine power of taking away human life” (Oshinsky, 2010). By the 1840’s there were organized groups opposing the death penalty such as the Society for the Abolition of Capital Punishment. Within the coming years, the support for capital punishment fluctuated. Throughout the book, Oshinsky explores the many cases leading up to the Furman v. Georgia decision.

Capital Punishment has ended the lives of criminals for centuries. People have debated whether the government should have the power to decide one person’s life. On one side, people think the government does not have the right to play God as well as believe that the death penalty is simply unethical. Forty-eight percent of a half sample survey stated that life imprisonment was a better punishment for murder while forty-seven percent stated that capital punishment was a better punishment (Newport). However, capital punishment should be enforced throughout the country to help deter crime, benefit the economy, and ensures retribution.

Death penalty, or also known as capital punishment, today is still used. Many oppose many support it. In the case Furman v. Georgia, the death penalty was abolished. But not fully, because it is still used today. In 1991 more than 2,600 people awaited execution but only fourteen were executed. Capital punishment should be legal, and should be used more often.

More than two centuries ago, the death penalty was commonplace in the United States, but today it is becoming increasingly rare. In the article “Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?”, Diann Rust-Tierney argues that it should be abolished, and Joshua Marquis argues that it should not be abolished. Although the death penalty is prone to error and discrimination, the death penalty should not be abolished because several studies show that the death penalty has a clear deterrent effect, and we need capital punishment for those certain cases in which a killer is beyond redemption.

The cost can range all the way up to 1 million dollars just for a single death penalty case. Since capital punishment trails are longer and more intensive they tend to cost a lot more than the normal murder trails. Due to the high costs of every death penalty case there has been economic crisis in many states. In the past, around 3,000 prisoners were released early in Florida and prisoners in Texas only served 20% of their time. Rearrests are seen common in these states because millions of dollars are used for the death penalty instead of preventing crime. Most of the money is not used for crime prevention programs that could decrease the amount of crimes more effectively. Texas has one of the most people in the death row but its murder rate is also one of the highest. The politicians who support the death penalty believe that death penalty respond better to the crime. They also think that using the death penalty will make them have a stronger image. Not taking into account of the lack of funding, many do not realize that a single death penalty reduces the resources in the area. The million dollars could be used for long term crime reduction programs such as increasing the amount of police officers or even drug rehabilitation programs. Every death penalty trial is seen as a luxury item even if the person does not get the death penalty

Should the Death Penalty still be an option or only life in prison? This is the question at issue that the writer, Kyle Gibson(Heritage Foundation research fellow for the Center for Data Analysis), debates in the article, “ Death Penalty Repeal: It’s necessary to use Capital Punishment in a Free World”. On June 23, 2013 Gibson explains that Capital Punishment is a right and is important in society. He provides evidence on why Capital Punishment is important and how it is a free right of all citizens. His purpose is to show readers why the death penalty is important in order to convince readers to support and not oppose the death penalty.

The Death Penalty, or capital punishment is nothing new in the world. SInce the dawn of civilization people were sentenced to death for sometimes even the most minor of crimes, such a theft. As the world has changed in the last few thousand years, so have attitudes toward the Death Penalty,yet it is still a punishment that is carried out throughout the world today. In the United States, as of July of 2015, 31 states in the Union actively carry out the death penalty. Only 19 states have abolished the death penalty and replaced it with life in prison without the possibility of parole as the maximum sentence. However, with the declining popularity of the death penalty in the United States and throughout the world, the question that needs to be

As society has evolved, the way the death penalty has been implemented has also evolved- sometimes against the words of our Constitution. One of the more influential cases that transformed how people view the death penalty was Furman v. Georgia. This case set up a guide for limited sentencing discretion; this meant that sentencing for the death penalty would become standardized. Essentially in extreme cases, every criminal death qualified would be sent to death row and eventually executed. After disputes after Furman, cases like Woodson v. North Carolina insisted on individualized discretion when discussing the death penalty. Those in favor of Woodson believed that character ad record of an individual must be accounted especially when discussing life or death (Woodson 238). In Walton v. Arizona, Justice Scalia and Justice Blackburn dispute over the rationality of limited discretion v individualized discretion. Although each presents his case differently, both agree about the tension between the Furman’s promotion for limited discretion and Woodson’s idea of individualized sentencing discretion. In accordance with the Constitution, both Furman v. Georgia and Woodson v. North Carolina violated the Eighth Amendment in their respective ways but the current system (in terms of capital punishment provides a loose balance that ensures both the uniqueness of human beings as well as limits arbitrariness.

Since the death penalty was reauthorized in 1976, 1,362 people have been executed, almost exclusively by the states, with most occurring after 1990. Texas has accounted for over one-third of modern executions and over four times as many as Virginia, the state with the second-highest number. The Walls Unit prison in downtown Huntsville, Texas is the nations busiest execution chamber.

If the Supreme Court ever decided that capital punishment was unconstitutional, as a staunch opponent of the death penalty I would applaud the decision. Of course, the logical next question would be in the absence of the death penalty what sentence should be reserved for people found guilty of the most heinous crimes. I believe that life without the possibility of parole is a reasonable replacement and should not be abolished in the United States. Based on past cases such as Furman v. Georgia, I would presume that if the Supreme Court rules that capital punishment is unconstitutional it would be on the basis of the eight amendment. Because LWOP does not require the inmate to be put to death, it is inherently more humane then the death penalty

Georgia helped reaffirm the constitutionality of capital punishment (Gregg v. Georgia, n.d.). This case helped bring the public more clarity within their support of the death penalty, encouraging it to continue growing and reaching its highest levels of support in the measured past at 80% (and lowest levels of opposition at 13%) by the year 1994 (Jones, 2002). While Gallup Polls show a generally high, yet wavering support for the death penalty, the Harris Poll’s results show a marked increase in support within twenty years of the Gregg v. Georgia

Capital punishment, the state imposed penalty of death, continues to be one of the most controversial issues in contemporary American public policy. Since the earliest days of its employment in the colonial era until today, citizens have struggles with the issue of when and under what circumstances the taking of a human life by the state can be morally or legally justified. For some opponents of the death penalty, the simple answer is that the taking of a human life is always morally and ethically wrong, even when conducted under the auspices of state authority as a legal punishment. In contrast, proponents of capital punishment have contended with equal fervor that the death penalty is morally justified as a form of retributive justice,

An issue that has continually created tension in today's society is whether the death penalty serves as a justified and valid form of punishment. Whenever the word "death penalty" comes up, extremists from both sides start yelling out their arguments. One side says deterrence, the other side says there's a potential of executing an innocent man; one says justice, retribution, and punishment; the other side says execution is murder. Crime is an evident part of society, and everyone is aware that something must be done about it. Most people know the threat of crime to their lives, but the question lies in the methods and action in which it should be dealt with. In several parts of