Gregg+v.+Georgia

*Gregg v. Georgia*  by Alex Saenz, Brooke Billings, and Erica Gardner

__ Date of Hearing: __
This case was argued on **March 31, 1976**. It was decided ** July 2, 1976 .**

__**Summary of the Case and Analysis**__ A jury decided that the defendant, **Troy Leon Gregg**, was guilty of armed robbery and murder. They sentenced him to death, but he appealed to the Supreme Court. The argument was that the death penalty violated the 8th Amendment and the 14th Amendment, and was "cruel and unusual" punishment.

The case became much more than just an issue of Gregg's life - it questioned whether or not capital punishment should be used at all.

The court decided that as long as the trial carefully contemplated all the facts, and the punishment adequately fit the crime, the death penalty could still be employed. But, it had to fit certain standards and criteria concerning the extent of the crime. The "nature" of the defendant - their past record, their intentions, and more - had to be considered as well. Also, future cases were to be compared to previous death penalty cases so that the penalty was used in a matter consistent with how extreme the crime was.

The state of Georgia had a very strict set of guidelines so that the death penalty wasn't used carelessly, so according to the Court they had the right to use the death penalty. Gregg was to be executed, but this was only for the counts of murder, not the robbery. The robbery counts were not considered extreme enough, but the murder counts were. However, he escaped before he was executed, only to die later in bar fight.

** 8th and 14th Amendments **
Two documents relevant to the case were the **8th and 14th Amendments.**


 * __Eighth Amendment:__** //"Excessive Bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."//

This was relevant to the case because it dealt with the death penalty. People argued about whether or not the death penalty violated the "cruel and unusual punishments" part of the eighth amendment. Was it a quick, painless, and dignified punishment, or was it long and agonizing enough to be considered "cruel and unusual"? They wondered whether the penalty was too extreme for even murder. Many people thought that taking another human's life justified the death penalty, but others disagreed.


 * __Fourteenth Amendment:__**This dealt with citizenship and the rights that come with it, including life, liberty, and property. It ensured that these rights could not be removed without careful contemplation of the issue. (The full text can be found here: @http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment14/)

This was relevant to the case because the death penalty would violate the part of this amendment that said life was right that should not be taken away carelessly. In this case, was it just to take away the defendant's life? Was his crime worthy of the death penalty? Was it right for the government to take away anyone's life? These were some of the issues explored.


 * Basically**, this case affected the interpretations of both of these amendments. The Supreme Court ended up deciding that capital punishment did not necessarily violate the 8th or 14th amendment, as long as it met certain criteria (explored in the next section).

__**Main Issue/Argument of Case:** __
The main issue/argument of the case was whether or not the sentence of death for the crime of murder under the law of Georgia violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Troy Gregg was accused and found guilty of armed robbery and murder. He was sentenced to the death penalty, which he claimed was an "unusual and cruel punishment." He argued that the death penalty violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.

__** Decision Rendered by the Court: **__

The Court voted that the death penalty was not necessarily a cruel and unusual punishment. Since Georgia had followed the proper guidelines for an execution, they voted to have Troy Gregg killed.

**__Vote:__**
 * **7 votes for Georgia** (in favor of death penalty)
 * **2 votes against Georgia** (against death penalty)

__ Who Voted Dissenting and Why: __
The two members of the jury **(Supreme Court, not jury)** that voted dissenting were William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall; they believed that the death penaly violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and that it was cruel and unusual. Brennan believed that the punishment was degrading to human dignity, arbitrarily severe, and unnecessary. Marshall attacked the penalty directly, finding it unnecessary, excessive, and offensive to contempory values. The dissenters argued that the court should not challenge legislative judgments about the desirability and effectivness of punishments.

Warren Earl Burger
**source: Wikimedia commons ** The Chief Justice during this trial was Warren Earl Burger. He was born September 17, 1907, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and was of Swiss and German descent. His parents were immigrant farmers and they were lower middle-class. Burger was a Presbyterian.

Burger attended University of Minnesota for his undergraduate degree, and then he earned his L.L.B. at the Saint Paul College of Law (know William Mitchell College of Law). After he graduated, he joined a prominent law firm, and then taught for 12 years. Other jobs included Assistant Attorney general for Eisenhower. He was a member of the Republican Party.

President Dwight E. Eisenhower nominated Warren E. Burger to be a Supreme Court Justice in 1956. In 1969, he was nominated by President Nixon to be Supreme Court Justice. Finally, in 1986, Burger retired from the Supreme court as the longest serving court justice in the 20th century. Even though he retired from the Supreme Court, he still continued working for the government.

Warren Earl Burger died in Alexandria, Virginia, on June 25, 1995.

Extra info: The Chief Justice before Warren Earl Burger was a man named Earl Warren. Talk about confusing!

__Members of the Court/How Long They Served/Their Vote __
**Chief Justice Warren E. Burger** served 1969 - 1986 (17 years total). He had been serving 7 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.


 * Potter Stewart ** served 1958 - 1981 (23 years total). He had been serving for 18 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.

**Byron White** served 1962 - 1993 (31 years total). He had been serving 14 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.


 * Harry Blackmun ** served 1970 - 1994 (24 years total). He had been serving 6 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.

**Lewis F. Powell, Jr.** served 1972 - 1987 (15 years total). He had been serving 4 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.

**William Rehnquist** served 1972 - 2005 (33 years total). He had been serving 4 years when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.

**John Paul Stevens** served 1975 - 2010 (35 years total). He had been serving 1 year when this case arrived. He voted //for// Georgia.

**Thurgood Marshall** served 1967 -1991 (24 years total). He had been serving 9 years when this case arrived. He voted //against// Georgia.
 * Dissent:** He believed capital punishment violated the 8th and 14th Amendments. Marshall thought 1) that it violated the constitution because it was excessive, and 2) that if the American people were better informed about the death penalty, they would reject it as immoral. He also described the flaws in a study by Isaac Ehrlich, in which Ehrlich claimed that the death penalty reduced homicide rates. This study was used in court cases to defend capital punishment. Marshall said that the Ehrlich study was wrong because it cites the reduction in homicide rates nationwide, but the death penalty varied among states. In addition, Marshall thought it was "disturbing" that the death penalty was seen as fair retribution. **(Good info, but should be up with the dissenting opinions - doesn't seem to fit here)**

**William J. Brennan** served 1956 - 1990 (34 years total). He had beens serving for 20 years when this case arrived. He voted //against// Georgia.
 * Dissent:** He believed that the methods by which capital punishment was carried out were cruel and unusual. Brennan acknowledged that America, like other nations, had been struggling with the controversy of capital punishment for ages, but he thought that law had progressed to a point where it should be completely ruled out. He considered it immoral because it violated the 8th and 14th Amendments.

Personal Opinion
We personally feel that this case was a pivotal point in American history regarding capital punishment/the death penalty. We feel that the Supreme Court made the wrong decision in subjecting Gregg to the death penalty because this is cruel and usual punishment, which is a violation of the eighth amendment. The death penalty is cruel because a murder committed by the state does not justify a murder committed by a defendant; therefore, the state is imposing cruelty - an unnecessary cause for pain and suffering. The purpose of law is to maintain order and to achieve a peaceful society. Murderers and other threats must to be removed from society that threaten peace- this is the law enforcer’s and the court’s job. Locking up a murderer for life would remove the threat from society, making death penalty useless and vengeful. The death penalty is not only unnecessary, but as mentioned before, cruel. Children are taught from a young age that two wrongs don’t make a right. Murder is obviously wrong, and the death penalty is only a step, if that, above murder.

If this Case Had Gone the Other Way?
If this case had gone the other way the death penalty would not be as prevalent as it is today- thirty five states institute the death penalty. We also feel that corruption and disorder would not be as widespread today, if this case had gone the other way. When children learn about the government in school, this law imposes beliefs in which murder is okay as long as it is committed in the correct circumstances. When children process this concept, they are likely to misunderstand that death can only be instituted by a court and jury- this confusion can lead to violence as the children grow and mature because they believe that death is a reasonable punishment. They think that as long as they are justified, they can commit a crime. Not only can children- and later adults- become violent as a result of the death penalty, but they may believe that two wrongs make a right, or in this case that two murders equal justice.

Bibliography "14th Amendment Summary - What Is the Fourteenth Amendment." American History From About. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. . //Byron R. White //. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. .

"Gregg v. Georgia." //FindLaw//. Case. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=428&page=153>.

"Gregg v. Georgia." //LII | LII / Legal Information Institute//. 31 Mar. 1976. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0428_0153_ZS.html>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">GREGG v. GEORGIA //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1975/1975_74_6257//>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Harry A. Blackmun //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/harry_a_blackmun//>.

"History of the Federal Judiciary." //Federal Judicial Center//. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=319>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">John Paul Stevens //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/john_paul_stevens//>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Lewis F. Powell, Jr. //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/lewis_f_powell_jr//>.

"Members of the Supreme Court of the United States." //Supreme Court of the United States//. 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. <http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/members.aspx>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Potter Stewart //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/potter_stewart//>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Thurgood Marshall //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/thurgood_marshall//>.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> "Troy Leon GREGG." // Murderpedia, the Encyclopedia of Murderers // <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.murderpedia.org/male.G/g/gregg-troy-leon-burger.htm>

"Warren E. Burger : Library : MNHS.ORG." Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.mnhs.org/library/tips/history_topics/122warren_burger.html>.

"Warren E. Burger | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law." // The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of the United States //. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.oyez.org/justices/warren_e_burger>.

"Warren E. Burger (chief Justice of United States) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." // Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia //. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/85053/Warren-E-Burger>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Warren E. Burger //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/warren_e_burger//>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">William H. Rehnquist //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/william_h_rehnquist//>.

//<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">William J. Brennan, Jr. //<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012. <//http://www.oyez.org/justices/william_j_brennan_jr//>.

"Furman v. Georgia: West's Encyclopedia of American Law (Full Article) from Answers.com." //Answers.com: Wiki Q&A Combined with Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Encyclopedias//. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.answers.com/topic/furman-v-georgia>

//GREGG v. GEORGIA//. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 14 February 2012.

**Nicely done -** **6.5/7 - Bibliography -- most of this is alphabetical except the last two entries.** **26/28 - Content - Well done. This was an interesting case, and you guys did a good job of analyzing it. The death penalty is a very contentious topic and this was a milestone case.** **4.5/5 Organization -- Why are the sections with the Chief Justice and judges below the decision? It should come earlier.**

**37/40 Total**