William Furman's Death Penalty Case

In this case, William Furman committed a robbery of a private home. The resident of the home awoke to find Furman in his house. Furman tried to escape and while doing so, he tripped and fired his gun accidently, which killed the victim. He was taken to trial and found guilty of murder. Because the shooting occurred during the commission of a felony, Furman was eligible for the death penalty according to the felony murder rule. The rule of felony murder states that if an offender kills, with or without intention, during a dangerous crime, they are guilty of murder. Furman was sentenced to death but the case was taken to the Supreme Court before his punishment was carried out. The issue of the case was whether the death penalty should be considered cruel and unusual punishment. If it was considered cruel and unusual punishment, then it would also be in violation of the 8th and 14th Amendments.
There was a violation of Furman’s 8th and 14th Amendment rights. The 8th Amendment prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail and fines, and imposing cruel and unusual punishment. The 14th Amendment protects the rights of citizens of the United States, which Furman was. The death penalty decision was very controversial. Many people thought the death penalty was unconstitutional in all instances and declared it to be a cruel and unusual punishment. Also, since Furman was African American, he should not be given the death penalty because of his race. There were many similar cases involving white murderers, but they were not given the death penalty. The Supreme Court declared that they would not administer the death penalty in a discriminatory