Furman V Georgia

College

Furman v Georgia

Name of Student

Course

Instructor

Date of submission 

Facts

In 1972, William Henry Furman, an African-American had broken into a house owned by William Joseph Micke. The homeowner discovered Furman presence as he woke up in the middle of the night. During the trial, Furman gave an unsworn statement that was permitted under the Georgia Criminal Procedure, he alleged that in the process of escaping he tripped and the gun that he carried accidentally shot William Joseph killing him instantly. The unsworn statement contradicted an earlier statement that he confessed to the police officers that he had fired while escaping (John, 2008). However, based on the felony murder rule Furman would still be guilty of murder and eligible for the death sentence under the extant state law. He was slapped with a death sentence but later appealed the decision at the Supreme Court arguing that the death sentence amounted to cruel and usual punishment that violated the Eighth and fourteenth Amendments respectively.

Issue

The legal question that the court was required to exercise its judicial mind was whether the imposition of the death penalty amounted to cruel and unusual punishment thereby contravening the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments respectively.

Decision

In their wisdom, the Supreme Court held that the Appellants Rights had been infringed under the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments.

Majority Opinion Reasoning/ Ratio Decidendi

The majority opinion was of the view that the death penalty was disproportionately applied amongst races. The state of Georgia usage of the death sentence varied across the races, and the greatest victims were the African Americans. The court analyzed that a Black, accused of murder was likely to be sentenced to death than a White accused of the same offense (Stuart, 2013). Such actions by the state of Georgia violated the Fourteenth amendment that stipulated equal protection before the law to all citizens irrespective of...