Furman V. Georgia Case Brief

Trisha Montoya Adju.102 Spring 2018- Case: Gregg vs Georgia. No. 74-6257 Argued 31Mar1976. Decided 02Jul1976. 428 U.S. 153. FACTS:

The District court acknowledges the defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The Court of

He was sentenced by the court to capital punishment, the legal process that allows state governments to execute prisoners who committed a serious crime. At the trial, the judge found guilty of the two murders and two counts of armed robbery. Gregg challenged the court’s decision because it violated his 8th and 14th amendments and was “cruel and unusual punishment”. On January 17, 1971, Furman was sentenced to the death penalty because of an accidental murder. Furman broke-in to a house while robbing the house, the owner woke up and Furman started to run out of the house when all of a sudden his weapon dropped and discharged and killed the homeowner.

Execution is the act of carrying out of a sentence of death on a condemned person. This is carried out either by lethal injection or electrocution. Execution despite its barbaric nature has survived in many legal system and will continue to because it: reinforces a state of security of the general public, detters other individuals from committing such crimes, and enforces the concept of cause and effect within the legal system. In the text “The Penalty of Death” H.L. Mencken discusses not only why he supports executions, but also the ripple effects this action has on a society. While in a text entitled “Death Penalty,” Anna Quindlen discusses her objections to execution, because, as she states:”it consists of stooping to the level of the

Furman believed that his death sentence was unfair and he appealed his death sentence. He believed that the application of death sentences were unfairly administered and disproportionately targeted African Americans. The issue was whether or not the imposition of the death

So when they received the McCleskey v. Kemp case for review, they were asked to answer the constitutional question of whether or not the statistical study provided proved that the death penalty was imposed due to the plaintiff’s race and his victim’s race. In a 5-4 decision the Court ruled that McCleskey’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were not violated and that the study did not prove that racial considerations were present. Along with the ruling the majority of the court provided their analysis of the

1) The reason why the death penalty in Florida was determined to be unconstitutional were due to the U.S. Supreme Court believing judges had too much power in deciding whether someone should be sentenced to death, or receive the lesser penalty of life. Legislators decided to require only ten out of twelve jurors to agree imposing a death sentence in regard to capital criminal cases, when the law was changed earlier this year. While Florida legislators believed their system was rational, the state's high court opposed. The U.S. Supreme Court declared in January that judges had too much say in sentencing someone to death, when constitutionally it was the jury alone.

One of the problems that was the way it was administered. Justice Douglas stated that the death penalty violates the eighth amendment because if the death penalty discriminates against people

On August 22, 1924, the two rich boys, Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb are tried for the murder of 14 year old Robert Franks. Clarence Darrow presents a tiresome 10 hour speech after the young men confess their guilt. Under these arduous circumstances, the test to persuade the Judge to release these kids from their death penalty all relies on Darrow’s powerful rhetorical appeal. Darrow uses captivating rhetorical appeal in attempt to denounce these young men from the death sentence, but, more importantly, to oppose civil punishment for the future. While Darrow is fighting to save the lives of these young men, he is simultaneously in the midst of another battle.

Georgia, was being battled in the Supreme Court. Troy Leon Gregg was charged with the armed burglary and homicide of two men and found guilty by the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia court ruled Gregg be put to death for his crimes against humanity. Gregg’s lawyers appealed this ruling and it became the first death sentence case accepted by the Supreme Court. Gregg argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, which states cruel and unusual punishment is unlawful (“Gregg v. Georgia”, Capital Punishment).

State of Georgia V. Marcus Dwayne Dixon (2003) Marcus Dixon was a highly recruited high school football player. His life suddenly took a tragic turn when he was falsely convicted of raping a 15 year old girl. The elements around his false conviction could have been avoided with some reform to the criminal justice courts system. Dixon initially had many charges against him but were narrowed down to statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. There was much racial disparity surrounding the jury on Dixon’s case, in that the county that Dixon committed his “crime” was a predominantly white population.

The death penalty is a controversial topic in the world of sport. It’s referenced as the nickname of the NCAA’s harshest punishment. Typically, universities that receive this penalty are banned from participating in a particular sport for at least a year. This penalty is very rare and has only been implemented five times in the history of collegiate athletics (Death Penalty (NCAA)). This paper is an attempt to take a deeper look and analyze this policy.

It’s Not working out. By:Taija Jones. The 8th amendment says “Excessive bail shall not be required, Nor excessive fines imposed, Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” . With that being said if the 8th amendment applies for cruel punishments of death penalties then why is it still happening.

Death Penalty is a very ominous punishment to discuss. It is probably the most controversial and feared form of punishment in the United States. Many are unaware, but 31 of the 52 states have the Death penalty passes as an acceptable punishment. In the following essay, I will agree and support Stephen Nathanson's statement that "Equality retributivism cannot justify the death penalty. " In the reading, "An Eye for an Eye?", Nathanson gives objections to why equality retributivism is morally acceptable for the death penalty to be legal.

Another issue that was discussed is the inequality of death penalty in practice. There have been serious issues with racial discrimination. For reference in cases with white victims and black defendants convictions occurred twenty two percent of the time while with black victims and white defendants with percentage dropped to a measly three