Furman v. Georgia

A 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the death penalty, as imposed under the statutes before it, violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments because its application was arbitrary and inconsistent.

Gregg v. Georgia: A 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding revised capital-punishment statutes with guided sentencing procedures. It ended the post-Furman moratorium by approving Georgia’s redesigned statute.
Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution: The constitutional amendment prohibiting excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments. The plurality grounded its conclusion in the amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
William O. Douglas: A U.S. Supreme Court justice from 1939 to 1975 known for expansive readings of constitutional liberties. His concurrence emphasized the unequal and discriminatory administration of death sentences.
Woodson v. North Carolina: A 1976 Supreme Court decision striking down mandatory death sentences for first-degree murder. It rejected one legislative response to Furman: removing sentencing discretion by making death automatic.
Capital punishment in the United States: The legal and historical practice of executing people for crimes in the United States. Furman reshaped the constitutional framework governing executions nationwide.
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution: The constitutional amendment guaranteeing citizenship, due process, and equal protection under the law. The decision applied the Eighth Amendment’s restriction to state governments through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Brennan v. United States: A Supreme Court opinion in which Justice William J. Brennan argued that capital punishment is unconstitutional. Brennan’s Furman concurrence developed his categorical objection to the death penalty.
Roberts v. Louisiana: A 1976 Supreme Court decision striking down Louisiana’s mandatory death penalty for certain murders. It applied Furman’s aftermath against statutes that required death for defined crimes.
Death penalty moratorium in the United States: The period from 1972 to 1976 when Supreme Court rulings prevented executions under existing state statutes. Furman triggered the nationwide pause in executions.
Per curiam opinion: A court opinion issued in the name of the court rather than attributed to a single judge. The Court announced its judgment without one majority rationale.

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