A Brief Note On Furman V. Georgia

Furman v. Georgia Nicholas, 4
Furman v. Georgia: The Death Penalty
Ethan Nicholas
Liberty High School
AP Government 4A

Furman v. Georgia was one of the many court cases that dealt with the death penalty. This time, the topic of the death penalty was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1972. This particular case ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. ?The ban on ?cruel and unusual punishments? is one of the most difficult to translate into judicially manageable terms,? stated Chief Justice Burger about the death penalty (Furman V. Georgia, 1972).
William Henry Furman was in the middle of robbing a home when the owner caught him. Furman attempted to flee from the home, but he accidently killed the owner with a gun (Furman V. Georgia, 2015). Furman was declared guilty of a felony and was to be executed (Furman V. Georgia, 2015). The Constitutional question that is regarded in this court case deals with cruel and unusual punishment. Is the death penalty considered cruel and unusual punishment, and therefore, violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments (Furman V. Georgia, 2015)? The U.S. Supreme
Court would agree in some circumstances that the death penalty was legal and in some circumstances it would not, usually depending on how bad the charge was of the convicted and the intent.
With a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Furman that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment in favor with the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments (Furman V. Georgia, 1972). The concurring justices, or the majority who favored with Furman, were Justices Douglas, Stewart, White, Brennan, and Marshall. ?I vote to vacate each judgement, believing that the exaction of the death penalty does violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments,? stated Justice Douglas in his concurring opinion (Furman V. Georgia, 1972). He believed that the death penalty violated the Constitution and was never to be imposed upon anybody no matter the circumstances. The dissenting justices, or the minority who favored against Furman, were Chief Justice Burger, and Justices Blackmun, Powell, and Rehnquist. Chief Justice Burger stated the following in his dissenting opinion, ?I conclude that the constitutional prohibition against ?cruel and unusual punishments? cannot be construed to bar the imposition of the punishment of death? (Furman V. Georgia, 1972). The Chief Justice, on the other hand, believed that the death penalty doesn?t violate ?cruel and unusual punishment? every time. The right decision came out whether the death penalty is legal or not because William Furman did not murder anybody purposefully.
Other relevant court cases that dealt with the death penalty are Jackson v.
Georgia and Branch v. Texas. Lucius Jackson and Elmer Branch were both convicted of rape in these two cases. The U.S. Supreme Court decided that the death penalty violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments in both cases, just like in Furman v. Georgia.
There have been many court cases dealing with the death penalty. Some have decided in favor of it and some against it. This court case went against it and rightfully so because Furman did not murder purposefully. However, the death penalty needs to be better defined because it is a hot topic that deals with peoples? lives. The impact of Furman v. Georgia is crucial because it was dealing with the life of William Furman at the time and deals with the lives of many others
today.

References
Chicago-Kent College of Law. (2015). Furman V. Georgia. Retrieved from Oyez: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/69-5030
Furman V. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (U.S. Supreme Court June 29, 1972). Retrieved from law.cornell: https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/408/238
Furman V. Georgia. (2015). Retrieved from Laws: http://cases.laws.com/furman-v-georgia