In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court found that the death penalty was not always unconstitutional under the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, sustaining Gregg’s death sentence. The Court decided that the death penalty may be used only if it is used carefully. By using a bifurcated process where trial and sentencing were separate, the state of Georgia was being careful. Justice Potter Stewart wrote the plurality opinion for the Court, rejecting that the death penalty itself is a “cruel and unusual punishment”. The Court found that it may not regulate what penalties are used as long as the punishments are not inhumane or disproportionate.
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**Think Further Questions:
1. Do you agree with the Court that a bifurcated trial is better at preventing needless death sentences than a mandatory death sentence?
2. What type of practices do you think fall under “cruel and unusual punishment”?
3. Do you agree that the death penalty can serve two purposes: deterrence and retribution?
**Contents:
00:05 - Case
01:22 - Decision
02:33 - Dissent
03:06 - Impact
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