Furman v. Georgia
5
FACTS OF THE CASE
Furman v. Georgia
1972
408 U.S. 238 (1972)
- Furman was burglarizing a home private home, he attempted to flee but in the process fell and dropped the gun he was carrying.
- The gun went off and killed a resident of the home
- Furman was convicted of murder and sentenced to death
ISSUE
Is the imposition of the death penalty in such cases applied exessively?
ISSUE
HOLDING
In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled in Furman's favor that the death penalty violated his constitutional rights as it was cruel and unusual punishment. This violated his Eighth amendment which is prohibition agaisnt cruel and unusal punishment which can lead to discriminatory results in the court room.
HOLDING
OPINION/REASONING
OPINION/REASONING
In Furman v. Georgia , there are two sides to the opinion on weather or not the death penality is crule and unusual punishment. Five justices, with them being the majority opinion deemed it was unconstitutional. However they all had different reasonings such as Justice Marshall inferring that it is cruel and unusual punishment to sentence someone for perhaps a lighter crime as well as death being cruel contradicting the term “cruel and unusual punishment”. The Justices that were sceptical about weather or not the Supreeme court could have the power to abloish the crule and unusual punishment. Chief Justice Burger disagred with Justic Marshall and should let the states alone have their own interest of the matter to weather implement the death penalty.
REFERENCES
- Furman v. Georgia. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/69-5030
- Spitzer, E. (2019, December 13). Furman v. Georgia: Supreme Court case, arguments, impact. ThoughtCo. Retrieved November 7, 2022, from https://www.thoughtco.com/furman-v-georgia-4777712