In 1989, the infamous Theodore Bundy took his last breath as he paid for every murder and rape he had ever committed. After years of terrorizing the nation, Bundy had finally been seized and sentenced to death by electric chair. The Los Angeles Times described the people standing outside the prison, where Bundy was executed, as joyous while “a few were shocked at the celebration that filled the chilly morning air” (latimes.com). This was only one execution that has sent the nation into a frenzy due to the moral and ethical conflicts people have on this topic. Heated opinions concerning whether capital punishment is just or unnecessarily vindictive have thrived for decades. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Georgia’s capital
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After the Georgia General Assembly altered the state’s legislation concerning the death penalty, it was able to be reinstated. In 2001, Georgia abandoned the use of the electric chair. According to BBC News, the state court ruled “that death by electrocution ‘inflicts purposeless physical violence and needless mutilation that makes no measurable contribution to accepted goals of punishment’” (BBC). Simply stated, this ruling decided that the electric chair violated the constitution’s eighth amendment. This led to the installation of lethal injection. The courts decided that anyone convicted and sentenced to death before May of 2000 could choose between death by electrocution or lethal injection. Any convictions after that date would only be eligible to receive the latter. Lethal injection remains as the dominant method of administering the death …show more content…
The Death Penalty Information Center states that, “crimes punishable by capital punishment in Georgia have historically included murder, robbery, rape, horse stealing, and aiding a runaway slave” (DPIC). Obviously as technology and society as a whole have advanced, crimes have been added and deducted from this list. The only crimes that can result in a death sentence in Georgia now include: treason, aggravated kidnapping, and hijacking a plane. These crimes only include those of the Georgia state regulations. The federal government and military courts also have a list of violations that can result in capital punishment. Since 1976 the only executions that have occurred “have been for murder or conspiracy to commit murder”
After the Georgia General Assembly altered the state’s legislation concerning the death penalty, it was able to be reinstated. In 2001, Georgia abandoned the use of the electric chair. According to BBC News, the state court ruled “that death by electrocution ‘inflicts purposeless physical violence and needless mutilation that makes no measurable contribution to accepted goals of punishment’” (BBC). Simply stated, this ruling decided that the electric chair violated the constitution’s eighth amendment. This led to the installation of lethal injection. The courts decided that anyone convicted and sentenced to death before May of 2000 could choose between death by electrocution or lethal injection. Any convictions after that date would only be eligible to receive the latter. Lethal injection remains as the dominant method of administering the death …show more content…
The Death Penalty Information Center states that, “crimes punishable by capital punishment in Georgia have historically included murder, robbery, rape, horse stealing, and aiding a runaway slave” (DPIC). Obviously as technology and society as a whole have advanced, crimes have been added and deducted from this list. The only crimes that can result in a death sentence in Georgia now include: treason, aggravated kidnapping, and hijacking a plane. These crimes only include those of the Georgia state regulations. The federal government and military courts also have a list of violations that can result in capital punishment. Since 1976 the only executions that have occurred “have been for murder or conspiracy to commit murder”