Jonah Patel
The topic of the death penalty and its relation to the US Constitution has been a highly debated issue, with the Eighth Amendment, which forbids cruel and unusual punishment, at the centre of the discussion. The US Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment, but the Amendment does shape procedural aspects of when and how it can be used.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Amendment number | Eighth Amendment |
| What it relates to | Cruel and unusual punishment |
| What it prohibits | Excessive bail, excessive fines, cruel and unusual punishments |
| What it doesn't prohibit | The death penalty |
| Who can prescribe the death penalty | Congress or state legislature |
| Who can impose the death penalty | States |
| What the Supreme Court has ruled about the death penalty and the Eighth Amendment | The death penalty does not violate the ban on cruel and unusual punishment, but the Eighth Amendment does shape certain procedural aspects regarding when and how it can be used |
| What the Supreme Court considers when reviewing an Eighth Amendment challenge | Evolving standards of decency in the community, objective factors that may show changes in social norms |
| Example of a case where the death penalty was invalidated | Furman v. Georgia, where existing death penalty laws were found to discriminate against impoverished and minority communities |
| Example of a case where the death penalty was upheld | Gregg v. Georgia, where revised sentencing procedures addressed the issue of discrimination |
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What You'll Learn
The death penalty and the Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but it does not categorically prohibit the death penalty. The federal government can still impose capital punishment, and some states have kept these laws despite a growing trend toward abolition at the state level.
The Eighth Amendment requires that a punishment must be proportionate to the crime for which it is imposed. The Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, the Eighth Amendment does shape certain procedural aspects regarding when a jury may use the death penalty and how it must be carried out. For example, in Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court invalidated existing death penalty laws because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the laws resulted in a disproportionate application of the death penalty, specifically discriminating against impoverished and minority communities.
In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court refused to expand Furman, holding that the death penalty was not per se unconstitutional as it could serve the social purposes of retribution and deterrence. The Court upheld Georgia's new capital sentencing procedures, reasoning that the rules reduced the problem of arbitrary application. The Court also noted that the death penalty does not inherently violate the Constitution, emphasising the role of capital punishment in deterring crime and providing retribution.
In Coker v. Georgia, the Supreme Court held that a penalty must be proportional to the crime; otherwise, it violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court looks at three factors when performing its proportionality analysis: the offence's gravity and the stringency of the penalty, how the jurisdiction punishes other criminals, and how other jurisdictions punish the same crime. In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court extended its ruling in Coker, holding that the death penalty is categorically unavailable for cases of child rape in which the victim lives.
The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment and applies it to the states. When reviewing an Eighth Amendment challenge, a court must decide whether a punishment is cruel or unusual according to evolving standards of decency in the community. They must consider objective factors that may show changes in social norms.
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Furman v. Georgia
The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but this does not categorically prohibit the death penalty. The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause incorporates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, applying it to the states. When reviewing an Eighth Amendment challenge, a court must decide whether a punishment is cruel or unusual according to evolving standards of decency in the community.
In Furman v. Georgia, the United States Supreme Court decided that the arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, constituting cruel and unusual punishment. The case involved William Henry Furman, Lucious Jackson, and Elmer Branch, three petitioners sentenced to death for aggravated felonies. Furman was convicted of murder and sentenced to death, while Jackson and Branch were convicted of rape. Furman shot a householder while seeking to enter their home at night. He claimed that he did not intend to kill anyone, and the gun went off accidentally as he was backing out of the house. The Furman decision invalidated the death sentences of nearly 700 people and mandated a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty.
The ruling in Furman v. Georgia resulted in a de facto moratorium on capital punishment across the United States. In response, dozens of states rewrote their death penalty laws, most of which were upheld in the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia. In this case, the Court refused to expand Furman, holding that the death penalty was not per se unconstitutional and could serve the social purposes of retribution and deterrence. The Court emphasized that the revised sentencing procedures in capital cases addressed the issue of discrimination.
The Supreme Court has also ruled that the death penalty does not violate the Eighth Amendment when the jury decides that aggravating and mitigating factors carry equal weight. However, the Eighth Amendment requires that a punishment must be proportionate to the crime for which it is imposed. In cases involving child rape, the Court has ruled that capital punishment must not be imposed as long as the victim survives. The Court has also indicated that the death penalty for crimes against individuals should be limited to homicide cases.
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Gregg v. Georgia
The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but this does not categorically prohibit the death penalty. The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause incorporates the Eighth Amendment ban and applies it to the states. When reviewing an Eighth Amendment challenge, a court must decide whether a punishment is cruel or unusual according to evolving standards of decency in the community.
In Furman v. Georgia, the Supreme Court invalidated existing death penalty laws because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the laws resulted in a disproportionate application of the death penalty, specifically discriminating against impoverished and minority communities.
In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court refused to expand Furman. The petitioner, Troy Leon Gregg, was charged with committing armed robbery and murder on the basis of evidence that he had killed and robbed two men. The jury found him guilty of two counts of armed robbery and two counts of murder. The Court held that the death penalty was not per se unconstitutional as it could serve the social purposes of retribution and deterrence. It emphasised the role of capital punishment in deterring crime and providing retribution. The Court upheld Georgia's new capital sentencing procedures, reasoning that the Georgia rules reduced the problem of arbitrary application as seen in earlier statutes.
With Gregg and the companion cases, the Court approved three different schemes that had sufficiently narrow eligibility criteria and sufficiently broad discretion in selection. Under the Georgia scheme, after the defendant was convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, a capital crime, the second part of the bifurcated trial involved an additional hearing at which the jury received additional evidence in aggravation and mitigation. For the defendant to be eligible for the death penalty, the jury needed to find the existence of one of ten aggravating factors.
The set of cases, including Proffitt v. Florida, Jurek v. Texas, Woodson v. North Carolina, and Roberts v. Louisiana, is referred to as the July 2 Cases, marking the beginning of the United States' modern legal conversation about the death penalty.
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Coker v. Georgia
The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but this does not categorically prohibit the death penalty. The federal government can still impose capital punishment, and some states have kept these laws. The Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause incorporates the Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment, making it applicable to the states.
In Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977), the US Supreme Court held that a penalty must be proportional to the crime; otherwise, it violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Ehrlich Anthony Coker was convicted of rape, armed robbery, and other offenses. He was sentenced to death for the rape of Elnita Carver, who was 16 years old at the time, in front of her husband, Allen Carver. Coker committed the rape during an armed robbery, which was another crime that carried the death penalty.
The Supreme Court of Georgia initially upheld the death sentence. However, the US Supreme Court, in a plurality opinion, decided that the death sentence was an unconstitutional punishment for rape because it was disproportionate to the crime. This was the first Supreme Court decision to apply a proportionality requirement for sentencing under the cruel and unusual punishments clause. The Court considered three factors in its proportionality analysis: the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty, how the jurisdiction punishes other criminals, and how other jurisdictions punish the same crime.
The direct consequence of Coker v. Georgia was the overturning of the death sentences of Coker and five other rapists. Coker is still serving multiple life sentences in a Georgia prison as of 2024. The ruling in Coker also influenced other state courts, such as the Florida Supreme Court, which ruled that Florida's capital child rape statutes were unconstitutional in two cases in 1981 and 1983. The Mississippi Supreme Court followed suit in 1989, overturning Mississippi's capital rape statutes.
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Kennedy v. Louisiana
The Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, but this does not categorically prohibit the death penalty. The federal government and some states can still impose capital punishment. However, the Eighth Amendment does shape certain procedural aspects regarding when a jury may use the death penalty and how it must be carried out. The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Eighth Amendment ban and applies it to the states.
In Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U.S. 407 (2008), the US Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for a crime in which the victim did not die and the victim's death was not intended. Patrick O'Neal Kennedy was sentenced to death after being convicted of raping and sodomizing his eight-year-old stepdaughter in 1998. The crime was so violent that the victim required invasive emergency surgery to repair her injuries. Kennedy refused to plead guilty when a deal was offered to spare him from a death sentence. He was convicted in 2003 and sentenced under a 1995 Louisiana law that allowed the death penalty for the rape of a child under the age of 12.
On appeal, Kennedy challenged the constitutionality of executing a person solely for child rape. The Louisiana Supreme Court rejected the challenge, arguing that the death penalty was not too harsh for such a heinous offense. Kennedy then sought direct review of the Louisiana Supreme Court's decision in the US Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in January 2008. Jeffrey L. Fisher, a Stanford Law School professor appealing on behalf of Kennedy, argued that there was an "`overwhelming national consensus' against capital punishment for rape, including child rape. He further argued that between 1930 and 1964, most of the people executed for rape in the United States were black.
The US Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana extended its earlier ruling in Coker v. Georgia (1977), which held that the death penalty was unconstitutional for the rape of an adult woman. The Court in Kennedy v. Louisiana ruled that the death penalty is a disproportionate punishment not only for the rape of an adult woman but also for the rape of a child and for any ordinary non-homicide crime where a life was not taken. The Court noted that "evolving standards of decency...requires that use of the death penalty be restrained". The judgment of the Supreme Court of Louisiana upholding the capital sentence was reversed, and Kennedy's case was remanded for resentencing. He is now serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole, which has become the mandatory penalty for this crime.
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Frequently asked questions
The Eighth Amendment relates to the death penalty.
The Eighth Amendment forbids "cruel and unusual punishment".
The death penalty does not inherently violate the Eighth Amendment. However, the Eighth Amendment does shape certain procedural aspects regarding when a jury may use the death penalty and how it must be carried out.
In Furman v. Georgia, the Court invalidated existing death penalty laws because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment. In Gregg v. Georgia, the Court refused to expand Furman, holding that the death penalty was not per se unconstitutional. In Coker v. Georgia, the Court held that a penalty must be proportional to the crime and considered three factors.
The Eighth Amendment provides several important protections for people convicted of a crime. It protects against excessive bail, excessive fines, and cruel and unusual punishments.
