Policy Review of Georgia v Gregg
The reasons cited by the majority Justices are what lead to the reversal of the Furman decision. They found that “The concerns expressed in Furman that the death penalty not be imposed arbitrarily or capriciously can be met by a carefully drafted stature that ensures that the sentencing authority is given adequate information and guidance” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). In the Furman case it was determined that the death penalty was often imposed arbitrarily and there were no safeguards against this discrimination. The death penalty must be unconstitutional if it is carried out in a discriminatory manner. One of the reasons used to change the decision of Furman was the procedures used by Georgia to ensure that this does not happen. The Justices felt this satisfied “the concerns of Furman, since before the death penalty can be imposed there must be specific jury findings as to the circumstances of the crime of the character of the defendant, and the State Supreme Court thereafter reviews the comparability of each death sentence with the sentences imposed on similarly situated defendants to ensure that the sentence of death in a particular case is not disproportionate” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). The Justices were also able to use the fact that the Georgia State Supreme Court automatically reviewed each death penalty case. With this safeguard in place then the problems associated with the death penalty that were brought up in Furman would be well reduced. With the guidelines Georgia put in place, and the mandatory review by the Georgia State Supreme Court, the Justices felt capital punishment was not unconstitutional.
The Justices used these reasons to once again permit the death penalty. “If the verdict is death, the jury or judge must specify the aggravating circumstances found. They found “in jury cases, the trial judge is bound by the jury’s recommended sentence” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). This takes away the arbitrary nature of the death penalty. The court must also take into consideration any previous decisions to similar cases before it can impose the death penalty. The judge must “characterize the trial in several ways designed to test for arbitrariness and dis-proportionality” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). To accomplish this the judge must question things such as race.
One of the problems Furman addressed was the jury created a risk of the death penalty being carried out arbitrarily. The petitioner of Georgia v. Gregg contended that the jury being given more options in sentencing, such as the ability to “convict a defendant of a lesser included offense rather than find him guilty of a crime punishable by death, even if the evidence would support a capital verdict” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976) made the end result of who received the death penalty arbitrary. The justices addressed this concern by giving the jury “guidance regarding the factors about the crime and the defendant that the State, representing organized society, deems particularity relevant to the sentencing decision” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). With sentencing guidelines in place, the Justices were able to use this as a reason for changing the decision about the death penalty. The guidelines help to assure that the death penalty will not be carried out in an arbitrary manner.
Another way they used these reasons in justifying their decision is the mandatory review of every death penalty sentence by the State Supreme Court. In addition, “the further safeguard of meaningful appellate review is available to ensure that death sentences are not imposed capriciously or in a freakish manner” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). By having the State Supreme Court review each and every death penalty case the chances of having a certain judge or prosecution continuously go after the death penalty in an arbitrary manner are considerably reduced.
In order to make sure capital punishment did not violate the constitution, the Justices set up certain procedures with which to carry the penalty out. The court provides standards of imposing the death penalty by looking at certain facts of the case, such as:
Was it committed in the course of another capital felony?
Was it committed for money?
Was it committed upon a peace officer or judicial officer?
Was it committed in a particularly heinous way on in a manner that endangered the lives of many persons?
These standards help to guide the decision to impose the death penalty. Also, the jury is given guidance to make sure their “attention is focused on the characteristics of the person who committed the crime” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). These guidelines include looking at the defendant’s prior records, and looking for any mitigating factors that might make capital punishment inappropriate for the particular case. Also, “as an important additional safeguard against arbitrariness and caprice, the Georgia statutory scheme provides for automatic appeal of all death sentences to the Supreme Court” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976) the court must decide:
Whether it was imposed under the influence of passion or prejudice,
Whether the evidence supports the jury’s finding of a statutory aggravating circumstance,
And, whether the sentence is disproportionate compared to the sentences imposed in similar cases.
With these guidelines in place the court was able to address the concerns brought up in Furman and once again allow the death penalty to be imposed in certain cases.
The Justices of the United States Supreme Court changed their earlier decision of Furman in which they found the death penalty to be cruel and unusual punishment in the case of Georgia v. Gregg. By providing the Supreme Court of the United States with certain safeguards, Georgia was able to turn the decision. Using checks and balances to protect against arbitrariness, using Jury guidelines and the mandatory review by the Georgia State Supreme Court are the reason the Justices used to change the decision. No longer should there be “no meaningful basis for distinguishing the few cases in which [the death penalty] is imposed from the many cases in which it is not” (Georgia v. Gregg, 1976). With Georgia’s guidelines and checks and balances in place the Justices decided that capital punishment did not necessarily violate the 8th and 14th amendments of the constitution in every case.
References:
Georgia v. Gregg. (1976). Retrieved March 3, 2004, from http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
