The Death Penalty Was Furman V. Georgia Essay

Comparing these two cases, the legal system did not really work fairly to show justice because if in accordance with the absolute interpretation of the 8th Amendment and the 14th Amendment, Gregg will never be sentence to death; this not only unfair to him but also disrespects for the authority of the legal system. Let us finally look at the case of “Callins v. Collins” in 1994, in this case, even though the convict Callins was put to death by lethal injection, there was a justice stood up to struggle on save Callins’ life, and his name was Harry Andrew Blackmun, who had voted in “Gregg v. Georgia” to restore the death penalty. Blackmun claimed that he had no longer supported the death penalty because he did not believe that the capital sentencing procedures were still working, and restoring the death penalty was a big

In 1972, the Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty systems then in place were unconstitutional violations of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments. In response to the decision many states changed their death penalty systems. Four years later in Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the Court reaffirmed the death penalty as constitutional. Troy Gregg had been found guilty of murder and armed robbery and sentenced to death. He asked the Court to go further than it had in the Furman case, and rule the death penalty itself unconstitutional (n.d.,Web).

In 1976, the United States Supreme Court, in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976), Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262 (1976), and Proffitt v. Florida, 428 U.S. 242 (1976) held that the discretion to impose the death sentence for specific crimes was to be bi-furcated into two separate trials. The first to determine guilt or innocence; the second to determine the aggravating and mitigating factors. The State of Oceana adopted the findings of the U.S. Supreme Court in People v. Wende, 600 P. 2d 1071 (Cal: Supreme Court 1979) In

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.

Three juries had convicted and imposed the death penalty on their accused without any guidelines to go by in their decision. This case (Furman vs. Georgia) represents the first time the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty. The dissenting Justices argued that the courts had no right to challenge legislative judgment on the effectiveness and justice of punishments. The majority however held that the death penalty was cruel and unusual

Furman v. Georgia was a murder was committed at August 11, 1967. Mr. William Henry Furman was a poor man that dropped out of school at the sixth grade. He was a 26 year old man without a job living on the streets with the intent of commenting theft. The suspect came into the home of and William Micke in Savanah, Georgia, and started to break everything looking for valuables to steal. While rummaging through the house William Micke surprised Furman and he took off running. While attempting to escape the house he accidently (according to him) dropped the gun and killed the unknown house owner.

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.

In the United States, 36 states participate in capital punishment in one or more of the five different forms, including lethal injection, electrocution, gas chambers, firing squad, and hanging (“Description of Execution”). After being banned in 1972, several states sought to bring back capital punishment by providing sentence guidelines for both jury and judges when deciding the fit case in which to impose death (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). These guidelines proved the punishment was constitutional under the Eight Amendment, proving it wasn’t “cruel and unusual” punishment under the correct circumstances. Three procedural reforms were approved by the case Gregg vs. Georgia, including bifurcated trials (separating guilt and penalty phases of trial), automatic appellate reviews of court decisions, and proportionality review to help eliminate sentencing disparities (“Introduction to the Death Penalty”). Ever since these changes in 1976, the death penalty

Some of the biggest opposers to capital punishment claim that it is unconstitutional and that is doesn’t comply with the “nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” part of the 8th amendment. The fact that the United States is the only G7 nation that still practices capital punishment, that would fall under the “unusual” section of the 8th amendment. Also, the words of the 14th amendment state that “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”, in the court case Furman v. Georgia this was shown not to be the case. Furman was sentenced to the capital punishment, but he appealed it. Anthony G. Amsterdam who was assisting with the appeal claimed that Georgia’s death penalty violated the constitution by

The death penalty continues to a topic that is largely debated in the United States, but it was never more unpopular than in the 1970s when it actually came to a halt. A moratorium is a temporary prohibition brought about when “the Supreme Court issued its opinion on Furman v. Georgia which struck down the death penalty nationally.” The moratorium lasted from 1972-1976 and was brought back during the time when Richard Nixon initiated the war on crime and condemned the decision on the Furman, “These efforts to reinstate the death penalty succeeded when, only four years after Furman, opened the door again on executions in the U.S. with its ruling on Gregg v. Georgia.” After the Gregg decision, the Supreme Court gave each state the choice to implement

The Furman v. Georgia case has set a precedent on how the courts deal with the disputable issue that is capital punishment because it was the first time the Supreme Court addressed the problem. Both racism and the morality of the death penalty have been relatively controversial issues in the United States for several years. The Furman v. Georgia case conjoined both matters. The case declared that if capital punishment were to be used, it was going to be used for all the right reasons, not due to any prejudices or discrimination by reason of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. Additionally, the case placed a moratorium on the death penalty because it was argued that the application of Furman’s sentencing would be an example of “cruel and unusual

The death penalty or capital punishment has been part of our humanity for years and years. Existed since ancient times, according to people a person who has committed an atrocious act, was sentence to death penalty or capital punishment. The death penalty begins back in the 18th century B.C. in the code of king Hammaurabi of Baylon; who was accused of committing 25 crimes. In years past, the punishments where more crucial then today, the execution procedures had no boundaries, forms of killing where endless. Drowning, whacking, “damnatio ad Bestia” which was death cause by a wild animal, dismemberment: dividing the body into quarter-usually with an ax, throwing then off a high place, impalement: one of the most

In the article, “Supreme Court Decision Focuses State Attention on Sentencing Regimes,” written by Don Stemen and Daniel F. Wilhelm, the authors expand the idea of the actions taken to determine the criminal sentence in the Blakely v. Washington case. In the case, Blakely argued that this sentencing procedure deprived him of his federal Sixth Amendment right to have a jury determine beyond a reasonable doubt all facts legally essential to his sentence (Blakely v. Washington, n.d). During the sentencing process, numerous aspects has to be taken into consideration to give the defendant an appropriate sentence.

In its decision, the Court voted that the death penalty statutes were vague and ambiguous, providing little guidance to juries in deciding whether to apply the death penalty. This caused states which still wanted the death penalty to revise their legislation to satisfy the Supreme Court’s objection to the arbitrary nature of execution.

“…if we look to the States, in more than 60% there is effectively no death penalty, in an additional 18% an execution is rare and unusual, and 6% (Texas, Missouri, and Florida) account for all executions” (Justice Breyer, p.86). It is quite curious that, even with the option, few states implement capital punishment. “For the reasons I have set forth in this opinion, I believe it highly likely that the death penalty violates the Eighth Amendment. At the very least, the Court should call for full briefing on the basic question” (Justice Breyer, p.91).