Furman V. Georgia (1972)

What happened in Furman v. Georgia?

William Henry Furman broke into a home, and while trying to escape, his gun discharged and killed a resident. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

What amendments were involved?

The 8th and 14th Amendments.

3. What does the 8th Amendment prohibit?

Cruel and unusual punishment.

What was the constitutional question in Furman?

Whether the arbitrary and inconsistent use of the death penalty violated the 8th and 14th Amendments.\\

What was the Supreme Court's decision?

5–4 in favor of Furman. The Court ruled that the death penalty was being applied too arbitrarily and inconsistently.

What does "arbitrary and capricious" mean in this case?

The death penalty was being imposed in a random and unpredictable way.

Did Furman completely abolish the death penalty?

No. It stopped the death penalty as it was then being applied and required states to change their laws

Why was the death penalty considered unfair?

It was applied inconsistently and disproportionately affected poor and minority defendants

What did Justice Douglas focus on?

Racial and economic bias in death-penalty sentencing.

What did Brennan and Marshall believe?

They believed the death penalty itself was unconstitutional in all circumstances.

What did Justices Stewart and White focus on?

The random and unpredictable application of the death penalty.

What did the dissenting justices argue?

They believed the death penalty was historically accepted and constitutional, and that reforms should come from legislatures rather than the Court.

What happened after Furman?

States rewrote their death-penalty laws to create more consistent and structured sentencing.

What happened in Gregg v. Georgia (1976)?

The Supreme Court upheld Georgia's new guided-discretion death-penalty law.

What happened in Woodson v. North Carolina (1976)?

The Court struck down mandatory death sentences because they did not allow consideration of individual circumstances.

When did executions resume?

1977.

memorization paragraph

In Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that the death penalty was being applied in an arbitrary and inconsistent way, violating the 8th and 14th Amendments. The decision temporarily stopped executions and forced states to create more structured death-penalty laws.

Why is Furman v. Georgia important?

It forced states to reform death-penalty laws because the previous system was considered too arbitrary and inconsistent