Gregg v. Georgia
Gregg v. Georgia is a significant Supreme Court case that addressed the constitutionality of the death penalty in the United States. Following the 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia, which deemed the death penalty unconstitutional due to its arbitrary application, states, including Georgia, revised their capital punishment laws. The amendments implemented by Georgia included the requirement for trials to consider both aggravating and mitigating circumstances, conducting separate hearings for guilt and sentencing, and ensuring automatic appeals to higher courts.
In a 1976 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld Georgia's revised statute by a 7-2 vote, asserting that the death penalty itself was not inherently cruel or unusual. The decision reflected a broader trend in public opinion and legislative action supporting capital punishment. Dissenting opinions from Justices Brennan and Marshall argued against the death penalty, asserting it was morally unacceptable and unnecessary as a deterrent to crime. The case marked a pivotal moment in the ongoing national debate over capital punishment, influencing subsequent rulings and shaping the legal landscape surrounding death penalty practices in the United States.
Gregg v. Georgia
Date: July 2, 1976
Citation: 428 U.S. 153
Issue: Capital punishment
Significance: The Supreme Court held that the use of capital punishment, with proper procedures and safeguards, is not inconsistent with the requirements of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
The Court ruled in Furman v. Georgia (1972) that capital punishment as commonly practiced in 1972 violated the U.S. Constitution. In response, thirty-five state legislatures and Congress revised their capital punishment statues in order to eliminate as much arbitrariness and unfairness as possible. The state of Georgia amended its statute to include three requirements: consideration of both aggravating and mitigating circumstances before a death sentence is rendered, a bifurcated trial for the separate determinations of guilt and punishment, and an automatic appeal to the state’s highest court to examine whether a sentence of death might have been imposed in an arbitrary or disproportionate manner. After Troy Leon Gregg was sentenced to death under the new law, his lawyers appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
By a 7-2 vote, the Court upheld Georgia’s statute. Justice Potter Stewart’s plurality opinion argued that the use of the death penalty was not cruel and unusual in and of itself. Stewart emphasized American traditions and the intent of the constitutional Framers, and he noted that current public opinion was reflected in the capital punishment statues that had been passed by the majority of the states. He insisted, moreover, that legislatures did not have the burden of proving that capital punishment was an effective deterrent and that retribution was neither a forbidden objective nor inconsistent with respect for human dignity. The two dissenters, Justices William J. Brennan, Jr., and Thurgood Marshall, insisted that capital punishment was inherently unconstitutional. Marshall wrote that capital punishment was not necessary as a deterrent to crime and that the public, if it were informed, would reject the practice as “morally unacceptable.”
The same day the Court announced Gregg, it announced Woodson v. North Carolina (1976), which stuck down a state law requiring a mandatory death sentence for select crimes. Following the Gregg and Woodson holdings, the Court decided many issues regarding the circumstances in which capital punishment was permissible. By the late 1980’s the Court appeared to reflect public opinion as it increasingly took a pro–death penalty stance. In McCleskey v. Kemp (1987), for instance, the Court rejected a challenge to capital punishment based on evidence of disparate racial impact. In 1995 a record fifty-six people were executed and more than three thousand inmates were on death row.
Bibliography
Berry, William W., III. "Procedural Proportionality." George Mason Law Review 22.2 (2015): 259–96. PDF file.
"Gregg v. Georgia." LII. Cornell U Law School, n.d. Web. 6 Jan. 2016.
Kirchnieieir, Jeffrey L. "The Supreme Court's Legacy on Race and Capital Punishment in McCleskey v. Kemp." Human Rights 41.1 (2015): 14–25. PDF file.
Vollum, Scott. The Death Penalty: Constitutional Issues, Commentaries, and Case Briefs. 3rd ed. Abingdon: Routledge, 2015. Digital file.
White, James E. Contemporary Moral Problems. 10th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.