The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Furman (26 yr. old African American) was burglarizing a private home when a family member discovered him. He attempted to flee, and in doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he was carrying went off and killed a resident of the home. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death (Two other death penalty cases were decided along with Furman: Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas. These cases concern the constitutionality of the death sentence for rape and murder convictions, respectively).
Argued: January 17, 1972 --- Decided: June 29, 1972
Arguments for Furman Furman's attorneys argued that criminal justice could be served well enough with life imprisonment. "…[T]he American people no longer felt that the death penalty was suited to human dignity," they said. Most importantly, however, the attorneys argued that poor people and people of color routinely received the death penalty for capital offenses, at a rate vastly disproportionate to that of whites, particularly affluent whites, accused of similar offenses. This was a clear violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection of the laws.
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Arguments for GeorgiaAttorneys for the State of Georgia argued that the death penalty was permitted under the due process provisions of the 5th and 14th Amendments and did not constitute "cruel and unusual punishment" as prohibited by the 8th Amendment. The attorneys argued that "the death penalty served to discourage [or deter] crime and also satisfied the public's moral outrage when terrible crimes were committed."
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Decision
In Furman the Supreme Court ruled that the sentence of death, itself, was not unconstitutional, but that the procedures and applications as practiced by the States were. Many States rewrote their criminal codes immediately, to more narrowly define and apply the death sentence. The newer codes have been generally upheld in such cases as Proffit v. Florida, 1976, and Jurek v. Texas, 1976.
The Court continued to hammer at vagueness in State criminal codes in Gregg v.Georgia, 1976; Coker v. Georgia, 1977; and Godfrey v. Georgia, 1980. In the Greggcase, the Court developed at some length the history and arguments on the death sentence. At one point, the decision explicitly upheld the "constitutionality of the death sentence."
The Court split 5–4 in striking down the death penalty as it was currently applied in State criminal codes. The majority opinion reflected these divisions but overturned Furman's sentence nonetheless. The Court held that the death penalty, as it was currently applied in State criminal codes, violated the 8th Amendment and 14th Amendment rights of condemned persons.
The Court continued to hammer at vagueness in State criminal codes in Gregg v.Georgia, 1976; Coker v. Georgia, 1977; and Godfrey v. Georgia, 1980. In the Greggcase, the Court developed at some length the history and arguments on the death sentence. At one point, the decision explicitly upheld the "constitutionality of the death sentence."
The Court split 5–4 in striking down the death penalty as it was currently applied in State criminal codes. The majority opinion reflected these divisions but overturned Furman's sentence nonetheless. The Court held that the death penalty, as it was currently applied in State criminal codes, violated the 8th Amendment and 14th Amendment rights of condemned persons.
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Eighth+Amendment
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0238_ZC.html
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Furman+v.+Georgia
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_69_5003/
http://www.enotes.com/furman-v-georgia/q-and-a/
http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ss_web_codes/supreme_court_cases/furman.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0408_0238_ZC.html
http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Furman+v.+Georgia
http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1971/1971_69_5003/
http://www.enotes.com/furman-v-georgia/q-and-a/
http://www.phschool.com/atschool/ss_web_codes/supreme_court_cases/furman.html