Like many U.S. citizens, the U.S. Supreme Court continues to struggle with questions surrounding the death penalty. Like many citizens, the Court has not fully accepted the idea of a penalty of ‘death‘ as a legal, humane or fair sentence against an accused person.
Periodically, the Court finds itself searching to answer questions about the current practice of capital punishment. Was it indeed ‘cruel and unusual‘ punishmenta violation of the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, when Georgia’s Courts convicted and sentenced William Furman to death for murder? In a 5 to 4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that this sentence of death was cruel and unusual and therefore unconstitutional.
Even after the Furman ruling, questions remained regarding the humaneness of such a punishment and the fairness of the courts in deciding upon who receives a death sentence. The question of fairness was examined by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1996 case of McClesky v. Kemp. The Court ruled 5 to 4 against Warren McClesky’s claim that racialconsiderations enter into capital sentencing in the courts.
While the debate continues in the courts, in the communities and in the media, executions are being carried out across the country and capital punishment is taking on new I if e in many states.