Gregg v. Georgia

Gregg v. Georgia {{ussc|428|153|1976}} was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision which lifted the de facto moratorium on capital punishment in the United States that had resulted from the decision in Furman v. Georgia (1972).

Related Topics:
1976 - Landmark - U.S. Supreme Court - Moratorium - Capital punishment in the United States - Furman v. Georgia - 1972

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The court upheld the constitutionality of Georgia's death penalty laws, which required that juries in capital cases consider all relevant aggravating and mitigating circumstances of a crime in determining whether to impose a death sentence. The general sentiment was that the statutes at issue in Furman were unconstitutional not because the death penalty is cruel and unusual, but because the system by which it was being applied at the time was not "arbitrary and capricious." Because the new statutes required the finding of one of several, listed, aggravating circumstances, sentencing was addressed in a bifurcated procedure and were automatically reviewed by the State Supreme Court (for excessive or unusual sentencing among other concerns), protections had been enacted to prevent such abuses.

Related Topics:
Georgia - Cruel and unusual - Arbitrary - Capricious - Bifurcated procedure - Excessive - Unusual

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The first execution after the ruling was of Utah murderer Gary Gilmore in 1977.

Related Topics:
Utah - Gary Gilmore - 1977

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