The reason people wanted the death penalty to be deemed unconstitutional was because the way it was being carried out. Under the eighth amendment, it forbids cruel and unusual punishment. The way the death penalty was acting against the eighth amendment was that the death penalty at the time did not have the guidelines that the death penalty has today. The death penalty was being used in an excessive manner. In the Furman v. Georgia case of 1972, Justices were not happy with the death penalty and wanted it abolished in the United States of America. One of the problems that was the way it was administered. Justice Douglas stated that the death penalty violates the eighth amendment because if the death penalty discriminates against people