Furman vs. Georgia
Furman vs. Georgia is a 1972 case where Furman appealed to the Supreme Court his capital punishment sentence by the Georgia court. The Supreme Court ruled that the capital punishment system impacted at that time was uncommon and cruel and that it was against the 14th and 8th amendments. There were no standards to determine when and when not to impose capital punishment.
The Supreme Court reinstated the judgment by overturning Georgia’s death sentence on Furman. It further gave two guiding principles that each legislation needed to follow for a death penalty sentencing system. First, the Supreme Court required that the system provides conditions to limit and direct sentencing done by an appellate court. The system also had to give the jury or the judge the freedom to think through reasons that would exempt the defendant from capital punishment, such as the reputation and the character of the defendant.
The opinion of part of the jury in Furman vs. Georgia’s case was that capital punishment had a problem since it could be used to discriminate based on religion, race, social position, and wealth. Unfortunately, this is the current situation in the application of capital punishment in the United States. The system is tainted with unfairness based on race and social status. In cases where the victim is white, it is more likely for people of color compared to whites to be sentenced to a death penalty.
We cannot justify the fact that capital punishment is more likely to be applied when the victim is white. This is a violation of the 14th amendment, which assures equal treatment for all American citizens regardless of their race. Homicide cases should be penalized in equal measure, irrespective of whether the victim is white or a person of color.