Furman v. Georgia
Headline: Court halts several death sentences, finding capital punishment as applied violates the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments and forcing states to detain condemned prisoners rather than execute them.
Holding: The Court held that the death penalty, as imposed in these cases, violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments’ ban on cruel and unusual punishments and the challenged death sentences cannot be carried out.
- Stops the pending executions of these petitioners and invalidates their death sentences.
- Requires states to hold condemned prisoners in prison rather than execute them.
- Pushes states to revise capital sentencing procedures or consider abolishing death penalty.
Summary
Background
Three people — Furman (convicted of murder during a home burglary), Branch, and Jackson (each convicted of forcible rape) — were sentenced to death in Georgia and Texas. Each challenged their sentences as forbidden by the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments, and the cases reached the Court to decide whether the death penalty as imposed is constitutional.
Reasoning
Several Justices agreed the Court must examine whether death comports with human dignity. Justice Brennan set out four guideposts: the punishment must not be degrading to human dignity; it must not be imposed arbitrarily; it must not be rejected by contemporary society; and it must not be excessive or unnecessary. Applying those principles, Brennan concluded death is uniquely severe, is now rarely imposed, is subject to arbitrary application, and is not shown to serve penal purposes better than imprisonment. Other concurring Justices focused on related problems: Justice Stewart emphasized arbitrary and capricious imposition, Justice White stressed infrequent use undermining deterrent value, and Justice Marshall surveyed history and evidence to conclude death is excessive and unacceptable.
Real world impact
The Court’s judgments prevent the immediate executions of these petitioners and require that condemned prisoners be confined rather than executed in these cases. The rulings also demand that states confront how they sentence and carry out capital punishment, whether by changing procedures or re-evaluating the availability of death as a penalty. The decisions signal major limits on how capital sentences can be imposed and carried out going forward.
Dissents or concurrances
Chief Justice Burger and other dissenting Justices argued the Eighth Amendment does not categorically ban death and that responsibility for such moral change lies with legislatures rather than the Court. They would not read the Amendment to forbid capital punishment per se.
Opinions in this case:
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