The Death Penalty and the
Eighth Amendment
Admin
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Opportunity to participate, be on the news!
2:00, Thursday, Room 117 Wooten
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First 60 students
Line up at 1:50
Need a FERPA waiver – cross off “1050.001”
and write in “1040.002”
Admin
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Workbook 6-6, Question 14, Answer “A” has a
typo (it should say “20%” instead of “10%”)
6-5 asks for information about women in
particular jobs . . . If the information for a
particular job is not available, don’t worry about
it . . . Use the information on the website the
best you can.
Admin
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Exam Make-up
If you want to retake (as opposed to make up)
exam, you need to e-mail me
(wwatson@unt.edu)
Why you shouldn’t do it . . .
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Retake score will be final, even if it is lower
Gap since you learned material
Format
Eighth Amendment
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Prohibits cruel and unusual punishment
“evolving standards of decency that mark the
progress of a maturing society”
Modern History of Death Penalty
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Furman v. Georgia (1972)
Responses:
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Death penalty for everyone!
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Rejected by Supreme Court in Woodson v. N.C. (1976))
Aggravating and mitigating factors
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Accepted by the Supreme Court in Gregg v. Georgia
(1976))
Death Penalty Today
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37 states, the federal government, and the
U.S. military have capital statutes
Number of inmates on death row = 3,350
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393 death row inmates in Texas
660 in California, but CA is slow to carry out
sentences
Lethal injection available everywhere except
Nebraska (electrocution)
Public Opinion
(All May 2006, Gallup)
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Are your for or against DP?
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Which is better penalty, DP or LWOP?
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65% For
28% Against
47% DP
48% LWOP
Is DP imposed fairly?
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60% Fairly
35% Unfairly
8th Amendment
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Is death penalty per se cruel and unusual?
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Only Justices Marshall and Brennan have
advocated this position
Is death penalty as applied cruel and unusual?
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Method of execution
Proportionality with crime (Coker v. Georgia (1977))
Certain classes of defendants
Classes of Defendants
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Mentally ill (Ford v. Wainwright (1986))
Mentally retarded (Atkins v. Virginia (2002))
Juveniles (Roper v. Simmons (2005))
Close-up on Roper
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Simmons 17 at time of crime
1989, Supreme Court held that 16-18 year olds
could be executed
What changed?
Justice Kennedy’s Opinion
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What evidence is there that standards of
decency now prohibit execution of 16- and 17year olds?
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Steady (though slow) trend toward abolition
5 states abolished juvenile dp after 1989
Even in states that allow it, juvenile dp rare
U.S. only country that still had juvenile dp (not
controlling, but telling)
Justice Kennedy’s Opinion
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DP reserved for most serious crimes, most
culpable defendants
Why are juveniles less culpable than adults?
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Less mature, more given to impulsive behavior
More susceptible to bad influences
Character of juveniles not yet fixed (hope for
rehabilitation)
Purpose of dp: retribution and deterrence