The discussion about the death penalty in the United states existed since colonial times. The peak of death penalty opposition was reached in 1966 when an anti-death penalty movement was born. Its strongest argument was that many prisoners sentenced to death were found innocent. Many executed people were proved to be innocent as well.
Besides the arguments of the opponents of the death penalty, many loved ones and families of murder victims also support the replacing of death penalty with life sentence without parole arguing that the process is a traumatization for all parties which lasts for years, the million dollars that are spent could fund violation preventing programs, better victim services, and the last reason - the death penalty concentrates on the legal consequences instead on the human once. It concentrates on the crime and the accused one but not on the family of the victim and the community.
Furman v. Georgia (1972) case was the landmark legal decision for invalidation of capital punishment in the United States. The case was resolved and conceived against the backdrop of equality, race, and power to resolve the ultimate questions pertaining life and death (Blume, 2012). The Supreme Court ruled on the issue of the death penalty in the Furman v. Georgia ruled out the death penalty for rape cases. William Henry Furman broke into William Micke Jr. house to rob him at night (Court, 1972). Furman was discovered by Micke where a struggle ensued between the two, which led to the homeowner shot dead. Furman admitted that he broke into Micke’s house with the intent of robbing but not killing him (Smith, 2008). The death of the homeowners was a product of accidental discharge of the firearm that Furman tripped over causing his death. After being tried, Furman was found guilty and sentenced to death which never occurred.
Furman v. Georgia case brought some issues in the Supreme Court, which led to the death sentence not to apply to Furman despite being found guilty. The Supreme Court asserted that the death penalty was cruel and harsh punishment and that it was against the Constitution. There was no existence of the majority rule on the death penalty (Capital Punishment in Context, 1975). Three Judges of the Supreme Court argued the death penalty was inappropriate forbid killing a human being. All the human beings have the right and freedom to live. The decision by the Supreme Court led the United States Justice System in reviewing the death penalty statutes.
According to the Supreme Court, the rights of living of the human being were violated by capital punishment. The case was taken by Legal Defense Fund of National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) that sought to invalidate Furman’s death sentence (Cruel and Unusual Punishment, 1973). The Supreme Court ruled in the controversial five-four decision found that imposition of capital punishment was unusual and cruel punishment. The sentencing of defendants was identified to have arbitrariness that indicated deliberate discrimination and racial bias. The result of the ruling was the moratorium decision on the death penalty in the United States that lasted for four years.
The failure of Furman being put to death as a result of being sentenced to death was due to constitutional grounds. The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution explicitly forbids taking away human life (U.S. Supreme Court, 1972). A majority of the justices asserted that there was no real justification for the death penalty other than personal distaste and racism. Furman v. Georgia marked the end of capital punishment in the United States since it was against the Constitution.
Several years later a similar case with almost the same corpus delicti took place in Georgia, Gregg v. Georgia (1976) in which the court decided: “the Court held that a punishment of death did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments under all circumstances.” (Gregg v. Georgia, 1976, n. p.)
It can be concluded that capital punishment does not deteriorate murder in the United States. The imposition of capital punishment is contradictory to the United States Constitution. The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution gives rights for life, the pursuit of freedom, and liberty to all the citizens. In most cases, the death penalty was not carried out to show justice, but it was done for other reasons. Capital punishment was done as a result of deliberate discrimination, poverty or racism. Thus, the death penalty is not a proper corrective mechanism for the perpetrators.
References
Blume, John (2012) The Folly and Faith of Furman, Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, 13(1), 33, Print
Capital Punishment in Context (1975), Furman v. Georgia, (1972). Retrieved on March 6, 2016 from www.capitalpunishmentincontext.org/resources/casesummaries/furman
Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1973). The Death Penalty Cases: Furman v. Georgia, Jackson v. Georgia, Branch v. Texas, 408 U.S. 238 (1972). Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Volume 63, Issue 4. Print
Court, S. (1972). Furman v. Georgia. Retrieved on March 6, 2016 from:
https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?about=3510234117314043073&hl=en& as_sdt=2006&as_vis=1
Smith Stephen F. (2008) The Supreme Court and the Politics of Death. Virginia Law Review 94 (2), Print
U.S. Supreme Court (1972), United States Supreme Court: Furman v. Georgia, (1972). No. 69-5003. Failing at the Finish Line.
