Gregg v Georgia

Gregg v. Georgia

By: Olivia Varner

Background

Troy Leon Gregg was born in 1953 and died on July 29, 1980

Verdict

Background Continued

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the State of Georgia in a 7-2 vote. They agreed with the State declaring that the original sentence was Constitutional because his crime was indeed a harsh and gruesome murder

On November 21, 1973, Fred Simmons and Bob Moore (the victims) had been driving about 240 miles north of Miami when they saw two hitchhikers on the road, Troy Leon Gregg and Floyd Ralford Allen. Later on, they decide to pick up another hitchiker, Dennis Weaver. After a little while, Weaver was dropped off but Gregg and Allen remained in the car.

At the intersection of Georgia Highway 20 and I-85, the men stopped at a rest stop where Moore and Simmons got out. It wasn't but a few minutes later when Gregg told Allen that they were going to rob them because the victims had been seen carrying a lot of money. As Simmons and Moore were coming up the bank, Gregg fired 3 shots. After they had fallen in the drainage ditch, Gregg came around the car, shot both of them in the head, and stole all their money. He left them there and drove off. It wasn't until 2 days later, November 23, that the hitchhiker Dennis Weaver saw an article about the robbery and turned the boys in.

Armed Robbery

Positions

Gregg had been found guilty of armed robbery and murder and was sentenced to death. He challenges and appeals this. The arguments are:

After Verdict...

Troy Leon Gregg (Petitioner): Argued that his death sentence was "cruel and unusual" punishment that violated the 8th and 14th amendments. Also argued that his accomplice, Floyd Allen, should be under the same sentence he was instead of just 10 years in prison. He also claimed that he had killed the men for self defense. Used the Furman v Georgia case to argue their point as well

After hearing the verdict, the night before his execution, Gregg escaped the jail and ended up in North Carolina, got into a bar fight, and was killed

State of Georgia (Prosecution): They argued that the verdict was indeed constitutional and not considered a cruel and unusual punishment because of the severity of crime that had been committed.

Troy L. Gregg

53

80

Discussion

2. How did the Furman v Georgia relate to this case?

1. If the verdict had been reversed, how would the outcome have been affected?

Citations

• "Troy Leon Gregg | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers." Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers. Web. <http://murderpedia.org/male.G/g/gregg-troy-leon.htm>.

• "Gregg v. Georgia | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law." The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of the United States. Web. <http://www.oyez.org/

• "Bill of Rights Institute: Landmark Supreme Court Cases – Gregg v. Georgia (1962)." Bill of Rights Institute: Home. Web. <http://billofrightsinstitute.org/

• Web. <http://kids.laws.com/gregg-v-georgia>.