Gregg v. Georgia

What Does The 8th & 14th amendment mean ?

THE COURT'S DECISION

THE BIG QUESTION

• ACCORDING TO THE SUPREME COURT DEATH PENALTY DID NOT VIOLATE THE 8TH AND 14TH AMENDMENT
• THEY STATED THAT THE TWO STAGE LAWS CAN PRACTICALLY ELIMINATE THE RISK THAT THE DEATH PENALTY WILL BE INFLICTED IN A HARMFUL MANNER.

• The 8th amendment states that " Excessive bail shall not be required , nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted."
• The 14th amendment states that "citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws , and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil war.

DOES THE DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER GO AGAINST THE 8TH AND 14TH AMENDMENT ?

DISSENTING OPINION

• The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State of Georgia in a 7-2 vote.
• The jury found reasonable circumstances for making their decision.
• One reason they found that Gregg should get the death penalty was because while committing the murder he was engaged in the act of two other capital felonies.
• The second reason was because he committed the murder for the purpose of receiving money.
• The jury also believed that Gregg should be put to death because he took two lives for greed.

Background

Gregg v. Georgia Case Brief

• On November 21, 1973 Troy Leon Gregg and a friend were hitchhiking. Two men found them and offered them a ride. A day later the bodies of the two men that offered Gregg and his friend a ride were found shot dead and robbed.
• A Georgia jury found Gregg guilty.
• Gregg was convicted of murder & armed robbery and was sentenced to death.
• Gregg argued that his sentence was a "cruel and unusual " punishment and it violated the 8th and 14th amendment.
• The supreme Court accepted his appeal and they heard his case on March 31, 1976.

Convicted

THE SUPREME COURT

By : Dajahney Hadnot

Case name and Citation: Gregg v. Georgia, 22 Ill.428 U.S. 153, 96 S. Ct. 2909, 49 L. Ed. 2d 859 (1976)

Facts: Troy Leon Gregg was convicted of armed robbery and two counts of murder in the state of Georgia. He was sentenced to death by a Georgia jury, but he challenged the sentence. He claimed that the ruling was “cruel and unusual” punishment and it violated the 8th & 14th amendment. Gregg appealed his sentence and it was accepted by the Supreme Court. He became the first individual whose death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Legal Question: Is the imposition of death prohibited under the 8th and 14th amendment as a “cruel and unusual” punishment?

Decision: No. (7-2, Justice Potter Stewart wrote the majority opinion)

Court’s Rational: The Supreme Court ruled that the “punishment of death does not invariably violate the constitution” because drawn two stage laws can practically eliminate “the risk that the death penalty will be inflicted in an arbitrary manner. After this case, the court reaffirmed the death penalty as constitutional.

Dissenting Opinion: (Written by Justice Thurgood Marshall). The judge stated to the jury that it "would not be authorized to impose the death penalty” unless it found beyond reasonable doubt one of these circumstances; One, that the murder was committed while the appellant was engaged in the act of two other capital felonies. Two, that the appellant committed the murder for the purpose of receiving money. Three, the murder was outrageously vile and inhuman. Finding the first and second of these circumstances, the jury returned verdicts of death on each count.

Significance of the Case: The significance of the case lies in the fact that it challenged the Eight Amendment that is supposed to protect against cruel and unusual punishment. The final decision of the Court was that the death penalty is not a cruel and unusual punishment for some crimes committed.

Gregg v. Georgia