Furman v. Georgia

Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

William Furman was convicted of murder in Georgia. He challenged his death sentence, arguing that the Georgia capital punishment statute gave juries completely unguided discretion, resulting in arbitrary and discriminatory imposition of the death penalty. The Court consolidated Furman with similar cases from Texas.

Significance

The 5-4 per curiam decision invalidated all existing death penalty statutes in the United States. Each of the five justices in the majority wrote separately. Some found that capital punishment violated the Eighth Amendment under any circumstances (Brennan, Marshall), while others found that the arbitrary and capricious application of the death penalty under existing statutes constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The decision effectively halted executions in the U.S. and led to 37 states enacting new, guided-discretion death penalty statutes.

Category

US Federal Case Law