The Death Penalty has been around for a good part of human history. Essentially, the idea was established in a set of laws by the Code of Hammurabi in eighteenth century B.C. Through history, executions included but were not limited to; crucifixion, drowning, hanging, guillotine, impalement, and other methods. In tenth century A.D., hanging became a popular method of execution in Britain. Today, America’s use of the death sentence was greatly influenced by their old motherland, Britain. When European settlers came to the new world, they introduced their practice of capital punishment. The first recorded execution in America occurred in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608. Since then, executions were carried out as a judiciary measure causing a controversial dispute among the people in the nation. The death penalty in America appeared in numerous cases debating whether it is constitutional or not. Most notably is the case of Furman v. Georgia in 1972, which temporarily put a halt to the system to renovate its procedures in each state, and Gregg v. Georgia in 1976 which overthrew the Furman v. Georgia decision and reinstated the judicial sentence. Additionally, controversial debates have risen from the death penalty, such as racial discrimination, persecution of juveniles, deterrence, society’s evolving standards, and the use of lethal injection.
Unequal penalties tend to be inflicted unfairly among parties who are equally guilty. Furman v. Georgia withheld a cease to this unfairness among the states towards the guilty.
Furman, a black male, “killed a [homeowner] while seeking to enter the home at night” (Cornell). Furman shot the victim through a closed door while escaping the premises. The defendant, aged twenty six, only completed grade school. While awaiting his trial, Furman underwent psychiatric labs at the Georgia Central State Hospital to diagnose his mental condition. It was reported by physicians that he was truly insane and must “retain his present diagnosis of Mental Deficiency, Mild to Moderate, with Psychotic Episodes associated with Convulsive Disorder”(Cornell). It was then that the physicians finally concluded his condition was not of one that could cooperate with a counsel to fulfill his defense in court. Furthermore, it was agreed that his condition must be treated by either psychiatric hospitalization or the engagement in medical treatment.
The case of Furman v. Georgia reached the Supreme Court along with several others such as, Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas. Furman’s case along with Jackson’s and Branches were granted certiorari from the Supreme Court. Certiorari was given, providing an order for the lower court to allow the higher court to review their decision on a case. The Supreme Court called the Writ of Certiorari to go over the verdict of Georgia’s state court on Furman’s case. Conclusively, all three men were found guilty. “Furman was found guilty of murder while the other two appellants were convicted of rape by their courts of original jurisdiction” (Case Brief Summary).
The accused, William Henry Furman, argued that he would undergo a violation of both the Fourteenth (Civil Rights) and Eighth amendment’s (Protection against cruel and unusual punishment.). He claimed the injustice of this decision, for he would be deprived of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”(Case Brief Summary) which are granted to all citizens under the United States Constitution.
The Justices involved in Furman’s case were Chief Justice Burger, Justice Douglas, Justice Brennan, Justice Stewart, Justice White, Justice Marshall, Justice Blackmun, Justice Powell, and Justice Rehnquist. The issue presented to the court was; “Does the imposition and carrying out the death penalty (in these cases) constitute ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ of the eighth and fourteenth amendment?”(Case Brief Summary) The majority consisting of Justices Douglas, Brennan, Stewart, White, and Marshall agreed with the issue under separate concurrences. While the minority of Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, and Chief Justice Burger, disagreed with each providing their separate dissents. In a majority decision, the Court concluded: “In light of history, experience, and the present limitations of human knowledge, we find it quite impossible to say that committing to the untrammeled discretion of the jury the power to pronounce life or death in capital cases is offensive to anything in the Constitution.”(Cornell) As a result of the court’s review on the Furman v. Georgia case, all death sentences in the United States were ceased.
Four years after Furman’s case, the state of Georgia faced a similar court case with Troy Leon Gregg. Troy was accused “on the basis of evidence that he had killed and robbed two men” (Cornell). Georgia’s Supreme Court could not consider charging the death sentence unless,
1. The murder was committed simultaneously with other capital felonies;
2, murder was committed to gain possession of the victim’s possessions; or
3 that the act of homicide was inhumane and evil.
The jury of the state court found the defendant’s crimes a violation of the first and second circumstances, resulting in a sentence of death. Troy also argued that an execution violated his rights provided by the eighth and fourteenth amendments. Gregg along with defendants from Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana all requested review by the Supreme Court and planned to declare the death penalty as an infringement of the eighth amendment permanently. The decision took several years to be established, yet the Burger Court which consisted of Justice Burger, Brennan, Stewart, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, and Stevens finally reached it. The justices were to determine the morality of the death penalty assuring that it was not prohibited by the eighth amendment. In three months, majority was reached with a 7-to-2 decision, concluding, the utilization of the death penalty only in extreme criminal cases which called forth such harsh punishment. The state of Georgia became entitled to provide fair convictions to all accused by means of conducting the sentence and trial separately. The court therefore understood the necessity of the death penalty to remain existent for major offenders.
In conclusion, “Capital punishment does not violate the Eighth or Fourteenth amendments of the United States Constitution provided it is set forth in a carefully drafted statute that ensures the sentencing authority has adequate information and guidance in reaching its decision”(Cornell). Through Gregg v. Georgia, the Unites States Supreme Court repealed Furman’s halt on death sentences and reannounced the usage of it as capital punishment under strict regulations. Under which regulations only Texas, Georgia, and Florida met at the time to carry out executions. The five cases which included Gregg v. Georgia, began the controversial dispute over the legal use of capital punishment in America, where many branching issues are debated today.