There are wide and divergent opinions on the United States’ Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment. While proponents of capital punishment allege that it can be applied as with the existence of sufficient due process, others contend that human life is irreplaceable and that “every person has the right to have their life respected” (Oppenheim, “Capital Punishment in the United States”). While capital punishment has phased in and out of the United States’ criminal justice system in the past few decades, current trends seem to fall out of favor with the death penalty. As Snell indicates, by yearend of 2011, there were 3,082 inmates held across 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons under the death sentence, where 9 states executed 43 inmates in both 2011 and 2012 (“Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical Tables”). In order to gain a deeper understanding and enhanced projection of the death penalty development, it is prudent to first examining historical accounts of cases that have been decided in favor or against the capital punishment in the United States. In 1972, the Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 came into preponderance and introduced the concept of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment when considering decisions against the death penalty. In the Furman v. Georgia case, William Furman was the defendant who shot and killed a homeowner when he burglarized the home in Savannah, Georgia, in 1967. Since Furman was African American, who committed a crime against a white homeowner in the South that is considered to be a racially discriminatory region, the near all-white jury decided on a death sentence within less than a day’s trial and deliberation (Oshinsky, 1). Furman’s attorney then appealed the decision to the Supreme C... ... middle of paper ... ...ecent Developments." University of Alaska Anchorage. N.p., 27 June 2012. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. U.S. Supreme Court. Callins v. Collins 510 U.S. 1141(1994). 1994. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. EDDINGS V. OKLAHOMA 455 U.S. 104(1982). 1982. Web U.S. Supreme Court. FURMAN v. GEORGIA, 408 U.S. 238 (1972). 1972. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. GREGG v. GEORGIA 428 U.S.153 (1976). 1976. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U. S. 363 (1978). 1978. Web U.S. Supreme Court. LOCKETT v. OHIO 438 U.S. 586 (1978). Cornell University of Law. N.p., 1978. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. PENRY V. LYNAUGH, 492 U. S. 302 (1989). 1989. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. ROBERTS v. LOUISIANA, 431 U.S. 633 (1977). 1977. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. WEEMS V. UNITED STATES, 217 U. S. 349, 378 (1910). 1910. Web. U.S. Supreme Court. WOODSON v. NORTH CAROLINA 428 U.S. 280 (1976). Cornell University of Law. 1976. Web.
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Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.
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Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. The laws in the United States have change drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium. During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes.”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment. While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that is capital punishment being used for vengeance or as a deterrent.
Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 102 S. Ct. 269, 70 L. Ed. 2d 440 (1981). Retrieved from: http://scholar.google.com.libproxy.clemson.edu/scholar_case?case=7188907281892258516&q=widmar+v.+vincent&hl=en&as_sdt=6,41