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Furman V. Georgia Case Study

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In 1972 the Supreme Court ruled capital punishment as unconstitutional on the basis of “cruel and unusual punishment” (Eighth Amendment) in the Furman v. Georgia case. The court argued that the death penalty was being used in a discriminatory way, which is only one of the many problems concerning capital punishment. Other factors working against the death penalty is the argument of deterrence, costs, and sentencing errors. Shortly after the Furman v. Georgia trial, another case reinstated the death penalty, Gregg v. Georgia (1976). Some people who approve of capital punishment argue against the “cruel and unusual” punishment of those against the death penalty by using a three tests designed to determine if the punishment legally stays within …show more content…
In my opinion, being sentenced to life without parole is worse, because the person will have to wake up every day knowing he or she will die without ever seeing the outside world again. Besides, most defendants on death row end up dying of natural causes or fighting within the facility before their execution date due to the increasing number of …show more content…
Wrongful conviction is a serious error in the system, especially in cases of capital punishment. With a system that is on a timed schedule it is hard to make sure that every conviction has been thoroughly evaluated so that there are no innocent people being executed, yet many innocent individuals do not get a chance to have their cases examined. Some errors may come from insufficient legal help, since a lot of people cannot afford a good attorney. Other errors may be eyewitness testimony, which has been shown to have high conviction rates even though identification is not always correct. Research illustrates that more than 140 inmates have been proven innocent and released from death row due to more evidence and DNA testing, but it is estimated that 25-100 innocent people have been executed since 1900. In “Forensic and Legal Psychology,” Costanzo and Krauss said, “In most murder cases, biological evidence does not exist- either none was left at the scene or none was properly collected at the scene, or if it was collected, it was not preserved by police” (370). Keep in mind that police and witnesses have one goal in mind, retribution. This goal can sometimes interfere with the jobs of police officers and some jurors if they are already convinced that someone is responsible for the act, allowing careless errors to

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