Gregg V. Georgia (1976) – PLSC 337-01: The American Legal System

In the case of Gregg v. Georgia, Troy Gregg was charged with committing armed robbery and murder. A few days after the crime, Gregg was arrested in Asheville, North Carolina. The .25 caliber pistol used to kill the two victims was found in the Gregg’s pocket. The petitioner then signed a statement in which he admitted shooting and then robbing the two victims.

The trial was to following the traditional two stage procedure in Georgia, a guilt stage followed by a sentencing stage. At the sentencing stage, the petitioner’s lawyer offered no additional evidence, but rather made lengthy arguments dealing with the legitimacy of capital punishment. The jury was instructed to recommend either a death sentence or a life prison sentence on each count. The jury claimed that it “would not be authorized to consider imposing the penalty of death unless it first found beyond a reasonable doubt one of these aggravating circumstances: (1) that the murder was committed while the offender was engaged in the commission of other capital felonies, i.e. the armed robberies of the victims; (2) that he committed the murder for the purpose of receiving the victims’ money and automobile; or (3) that the murder was “outrageously and wantonly vile, horrible and inhuman” in that it “involved the depravity of [the] mind of the defendant.” The jury found that the first and second circumstances held true, and they returned verdicts of death on each account. The Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed these convictions.

The petitioner then challenged the ruling of the death penalty, citing “cruel and unusual punishment” under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. The case was then brought to the US Supreme Court. The main legal question in this case reads as follows: “Is the death penalty considered cruel and unusual punishment under the 8^th and 14^th Amendments?” The holding of the case was 7-2 “No” and the opinion was written by Justice Stewart.

I agree with Justice Stewart, Justice Powell, and Justice Stevens in their conclusion that capital punishment does not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Eighth Amendment forbids excessive punishment because it involves the “unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain or because it is grossly disproportionate to the severity of the crime.” The existence of capital punishment was accepted by the Framers of the Constitution, and for the last two centuries, the death penalty for the crime of murder was not seen as invalid. Legislative standards brought about by chosen representatives heavily govern the standards of the death penalty. The standards of the death penalty in Georgia were met when the jury found that Gregg aggravated two of their three circumstance criteria. The deterrence effect is also a valid explanation for capital punishment since it provides a societal benefit. Lastly, capital punishment for the crime of murder cannot be seen as disproportionate to the severity of that crime since they both produce the same outcome. Concluding, I do not believe that capital punishment is a violation of “cruel and unusual” punishment in cases of murder because it is completely proportionate to the crime committed and it also provides a societal benefit. One can go beyond this in their rejection of the death penalty on the basis of morality and the right to take a life. As far as criminal procedure and past legal precedent, capital punishment should not be considered cruel and unusual punishment when used in the right circumstances.

Anne Collom says:

March 29, 2017 at 3:54 pm

I agree that in the Gregg v. Georgia case the use of the death penalty did not violate either the Eighth amendment or the Fourteenth amendment. This is because the use of capital punishment is not considered cruel or unusual when done correctly and used in the right circumstances. Constitutionally, I see no issue with the use of the death penalty in this case. However, precedent had indicated that in some circumstances the death penalty did, in fact, violate the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments. I believe that the case facts were different enough to make the distinction between the two, where capital punishment was acceptable and where it wasn’t. I believe the issue that arises with capital punishment is figuring out the distinction between when it should be used, and when other forms of sentencing should be used. The line could get really blurry between cases, and the decision is a huge one to make. I personally believe that the death penalty shouldn’t be used at all. It does not act as highly as a deterrent as people believe, and no methods are perfect to achieve the end result. There have been many recent issues in which the execution of capital punishment has been done incorrectly. This would cause the violations of the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments. Though I am personally against the death penalty, I do not believe the use of it in all circumstances violates the constitution. It seems likely to me, that as the United States continues to develop, the use of capital punishment will eventually be eradicated.