The journal Focus had this view on the Furman v. Georgia case: “Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court — in the case of Furman v. Georgia (1972) — temporarily curbed the death penalty, because its application was arbitrary and capricious (‘wantonly and so freakishly imposed,’ to quote Justice Potter Stewart in a concurring opinion). Is the use of the death penalty today more consistent and less arbitrary?”
The death penalty in Georgia and the United States continues to be used in a manner that is racist, arbitrary and unfair. Research has shown that in many cases the ethnic origin of the victim or defendant was a key factor in the prosecutors’ decision to seek the death penalty. Many of those sentenced to death in the state received poor legal representation. The racist use of the death penalty continues despite the 1972 US Supreme Court ruling in Furman v. Georgia that the arbitrary and capricious use of the death penalty was unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. It is said that Furman v. Georgia was a landmark decision but in essence it changed nothing. It proved to be a mere problem in the long running practice of the death penalty.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
1. Amnesty International Country Report: The death penalty in Georgia: racist, arbitrary and unfair. 1996.
2. Brundage, Fitzhugh. “Lynching in the New South.”
3. Castberg, Didrick and Victor Rosenblum. Cases on Constitutional Law. Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1973.
4. Focus Spring 1997. Volume XII, Number 2
5. Furman V. Georgia 408 U.S. 238 (1972) U. S. Supreme Court. Decided June 29, 1972
6. Gregg v. Georgia 428 U.S. 153 (1976) U.S. Supreme Court
7. Haines, Herbert. Against Capital Punishment. New York: Oxford University Press. 1996.
8. Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment:A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. 1993.
9. McKeever, Robert J. Raw Judicial Power? The Supreme Court And American Society. Second Edition. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1995.
10. Rovella, David E. “Danger of Executing the Innocent on the Rise: Four-year study shows that more innocent people are being sent to death row.” The National Law Journal (p. A01) Monday, August 4, 1997.
1. Amnesty International Country Report: The death penalty in Georgia: racist, arbitrary and unfair. 1996.
2. Brundage, Fitzhugh. “Lynching in the New South.”
3. Castberg, Didrick and Victor Rosenblum. Cases on Constitutional Law. Illinois: The Dorsey Press, 1973.
4. Focus Spring 1997. Volume XII, Number 2
5. Furman V. Georgia 408 U.S. 238 (1972) U. S. Supreme Court. Decided June 29, 1972
6. Gregg v. Georgia 428 U.S. 153 (1976) U.S. Supreme Court
7. Haines, Herbert. Against Capital Punishment. New York: Oxford University Press. 1996.
8. Kronenwetter, Michael. Capital Punishment:A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. 1993.
9. McKeever, Robert J. Raw Judicial Power? The Supreme Court And American Society. Second Edition. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press, 1995.
10. Rovella, David E. “Danger of Executing the Innocent on the Rise: Four-year study shows that more innocent people are being sent to death row.” The National Law Journal (p. A01) Monday, August 4, 1997.