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Gregg V. Georgia Supreme Court Case Analysis

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200 years into this magnificent nation, America found itself dealing with many political and social controversies, but in the midst of all the madness, one of the most successful companies in the history of the world was founded. 1976 was a defining year for America as the country looked onward to its next century. Apple began to define what it meant to be a computer, the Supreme Court defined the legality of the death penalty, and Escambia High School defined their stance on racial tensions plaguing the town. 1976 was an unforgettable year in America and its significance to the history of our nation is undeniable. From a garage, a technological empire was created by the ingenuity of two visionaries, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. Jobs and …show more content…

Georgia, was being battled in the Supreme Court. Troy Leon Gregg was charged with the armed burglary and homicide of two men and found guilty by the Georgia Supreme Court. The Georgia court ruled Gregg be put to death for his crimes against humanity. Gregg’s lawyers appealed this ruling and it became the first death sentence case accepted by the Supreme Court. Gregg argued that the death penalty was unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, which states cruel and unusual punishment is unlawful (“Gregg v. Georgia”, Capital Punishment). Georgia held its position that the death penalty is not an infringement of the Constitution unless the punishment is unreasonable (“Gregg v. Georgia”, Casebriefs). The Supreme Court voted to uphold Georgia’s decision, stating that the death penalty is not always constitutional when a person has been convicted of intentionally killing another person (“Gregg v. Georgia”, Oyez). However, not all of the justices agreed with this decision with two justices dissenting. Justice Thurgood Marshall objected the Court’s ruling stating that if Americans were more knowledgeable, they would conclude the death penalty as unbefitting to the situation. Justice William Brennan dissented on moral grounds, saying the death penalty is intolerable (“Gregg v. Georgia”, Casebriefs). This landmark Supreme Court case clarified what is considered cruel and unusual punishment for many future verdicts to

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Coker V. Georgia is a supreme court case that took place in 1977. Ehrlich Anthony Coker also known as Coker, was already serving multiple life sentences for rape, murder, assault, and kidnapping. (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/433/584/case.html) But Coker escaped through the roof of a building where a meeting was being held on September 2. (https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/433/584/case.html).

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Worcester v. Georgia By Sydney Stephenson Worcester v. Georgia is a case that impacted tribal sovereignty in the United States and the amount of power the state had over native American territories. Samuel Worcester was a minister affiliated with the ABCFM (American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions). In 1827 the board sent Worcester to join its Cherokee mission in Georgia. Upon his arrival, Worcester began working with Elias Boudinot, the editor of the Cherokee Phoenix (the first Native American newspaper in the United States) to translate religious text into the Cherokee language. Over time Worcester became a close friend of the Cherokee leaders and advised them about their political and legal rights under the Constitution and federal-Cherokee treaties.

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On November 24, 1973 Troy Leon Gregg was arrested for the robbery and murder of Fred Edward Simmons and Bob Durwood Moore. He killed the two men with a firearm, a .25-caliber automatic pistol after traveling with the two for quite some time. The bodies of the men were found in a drainage ditch and had wounds that pertained to the right temple and the back of the head. He was trailed and found guilty of both charges. The parties that were involved in the case were Gregg and the state of Georgia.

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The Supreme Court decided that the actual acted of the death wasn’t unconstitutional “but that the procedures and applications as practices by the States were.” ("Supreme Court Cases.") The original ruling was overturned and William Furman would not be executed. The court in the case explained that only way capital punishment would be eligible is if they could form a uniform policy. Without a uniform policy, the death penalty will be considered as a cruel and unusual punishment.

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Case Identification: 428 U.S. 153; 96 S. Ct. 2909; 49 L. Ed. 2d 859; No. 74-6257; Gregg v. Georgia. It was argued on March 31, 1976 and was decided on July 2, 1976. Facts: The defendant, Troy Gregg, sought the review of the decision from the Supreme Court of Georgia, which affirmed the opinion that the death penalty is not a violation of the eighth and fourteenth amendments. Gregg was charged with armed robbery and murder.

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State of Georgia V. Marcus Dwayne Dixon (2003) Marcus Dixon was a highly recruited high school football player. His life suddenly took a tragic turn when he was falsely convicted of raping a 15 year old girl. The elements around his false conviction could have been avoided with some reform to the criminal justice courts system. Dixon initially had many charges against him but were narrowed down to statutory rape and aggravated child molestation. There was much racial disparity surrounding the jury on Dixon’s case, in that the county that Dixon committed his “crime” was a predominantly white population.

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Henry Furman murdered someone while robbing their home and was sentenced to death. He appealed his punishment and this court case went all the way to the supreme court. He won the case in the supreme court now there are regulations for death sentences. Although he won his case, I strongly agree with Georgia and that punishment for murder should be a death sentence. There are many reasons I believe so.

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He also acknowledged that by allowing the content of a victim impact statement to influence the jury could lead them to choose the death penalty for reasons which were irrelevant to the defendant's decision to kill. This diverted attention from the facts of the crime. Justice Powell determined that by introducing the emotionally-charged opinions of family members into the case would destroy the reasoned decision-making. This is critical in capital cases. The major factor, in this case, argued if the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution protected a defendant from cruel and unusual punishment.

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In 1945, the High Court of Australia heard the case of Gratwick v Johnson and ultimately decided to dismiss the appeal in a unanimous decision by the Judges. While different reasoning was employed, all five judges drew the conclusion that the appeal should be dismissed as the statute the defendant was charged under was inconsistent with s.92 of the Australian Constitution. To provide some context for this case in 1944, Dulcie Johnson was charged with an offence against the National Security Act 1939-1943 in that she did contravene par.3 of the Restriction of Interstate Passenger Transport Order by travelling from South Australia to Western Australia by rail. In brief terms par.3 of the Restriction of Interstate Passenger Transport Order provided that no person shall, without a valid permit, travel from state to state or territory.

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The question then asked before the justices was whether or not capital punishment for the crime of rape was “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth Amendment. The Court found that the death penalty was not invariably cruel and unusual punishment when referencing the Eighth Amendment. However, in the case of Coker v. Georgia the Court did find that the sentence of death was grossly disproportionate and is an excessive punishment for the crime; therefore, it is forbidden by the Eighth Amendment as cruel and unusual punishment (Brody & Acker, 2010, p. 55). At the time of the case in question, the majority of States had ever authorized the use of death for the offense of rape (Brody & Acker, 2010, p. 55). In the case of Furman v. George, under that ruling most of the capital punishment statues in the United States had become invalidated, including rape

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Justices Scalia and Thomas questioned whether the consensus was even relevant and if the execution of juveniles was considered cruel and unusual punishment at the time that the Bill of Rights was enacted. Additionally, Justice Scalia felt that the Court’s review of international law has no determination of how the Constitution was interpreted (Frank, 2007). He argued that the Court should rule on what the law determines is legal and not how the law should read and any changes should be enacted by the legislature and not the Court themselves. Justice Kennedy, Justice Stevens, Justice Souter, Justice Ginsburg and Justice Breyer held the

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The most important issue that must be addressed in this case is the principle of the “evolving standards of decency” and the uses of a national consensus. The “evolving standards of decency” were developed by Trop v. Dulles and have been implemented in one way or another in all of the precedents dealing with “cruel and unusual” punishment. It is important to treat these principles as an important aspect of “cruel and unusual” punishment jurisprudence, therefore turning from these set of principles would be foolish and a disregard for every precedent. However, it is important to acknowledge that each case satisfies the standards by using a different method; some use the presence or lack of state legislature as a judgment of consensus while others look at foreign countries.

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The 8th amendment states that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. Justice Samuel and four other justices conclude that the lethal injection does not cause harm and does not violate the 8th amendment according to this article. “ Testimony from both sides supports the District Court’s conclusion that midazolam(medicine) can render a person insensate to pain” says Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Justice

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We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed

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It’s Not working out. By:Taija Jones. The 8th amendment says “Excessive bail shall not be required, Nor excessive fines imposed, Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” . With that being said if the 8th amendment applies for cruel punishments of death penalties then why is it still happening.

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