The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling on July 29, 1972, in the case of Furman v. Georgia — a decision that would temporarily bring the death penalty to a halt across the nation. At the heart of the ruling was a finding that capital punishment had been imposed in an inconsistent manner, running afoul of constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Because of this, the Court declared the practice unconstitutional, effectively wiping out every death penalty policy then in place.
The case itself brought together three distinct legal disputes, all centering on whether the death penalty was justified in the cases of two rapists and a murderer. In a closely divided 5-4 decision, the justices sided with Furman, putting an end to executions for the time being. What made the ruling especially notable was that all nine justices penned their own separate opinions — a reflection of just how deeply contentious the issue was. One thread ran through many of those opinions: the troubling reality that capital punishment was frequently handed down in an arbitrary fashion, falling disproportionately on people based on race and socioeconomic standing. The practical consequences were enormous, as the decision altered the sentences of hundreds of death row inmates, effectively saving their lives.
The reverberations of this case can hardly be overstated. Never before had the Supreme Court struck down all death penalty statutes in one sweep, forcing every state in the country to take action. States were required to suspend their capital punishment practices and undertake a thorough reassessment of how they imposed the ultimate sentence. The moratorium would not last permanently, however. With the 1976 case Gregg v. Georgia, the death penalty made its return, this time accompanied by updated procedures specifically designed to address the troubling issues that Furman v. Georgia had brought to light.