Jurek v Texas

Jurek V Texas After being sentenced to the death penalty, Jurek challenged the constitutionality of the death sentence, as well as the capital-sentencing procedure Jurek argued that the death penalty constituted "cruel and unusual punishment", which is forbidden in the 8th amendment Jurek's Death sentence was upheld The court stated that the procedure of Texas with the death sentence was only imposed when there was strong evidence that the murder was committed deliberately The jury had to analize three points and they had to all be affirmative that the murder was deliberate, this procedure was upheld, because the jury has to make additional findings in order to impose death sentence, so against common opinion, the death sentence was not taken lightly, but there had to be solid evidence to give such sentence http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1975/1975_75_5394

http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0428_0262_ZS.html With this decision, it not only allowed the death penalty, but it showed that it was legal for a state to have its own procedure to issuing the death sentence Justice Stevens announced the opinion of the court