Gregg Toland

especially in regards to death penalty jurisprudence, and by addressing the purpose behind the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia (428 U.S. 153 1976), to determine whether or not it was inherently cruel and unusual. Explicitly in Gregg v. Georgia, Justice Stewart remarks in his majority opinion that the death penalty “serve[s] two principal social purposes: retribution and deterrence (Gregg v. Georgia 1976).” Despite this, however, the debate on the death penalty and deterrence has been carried…

November 21, 1973, a man named Troy Leon Gregg murdered two men while hitchhiking in an attempted robbery in the mountains of Georgia. In the case Gregg v. Georgia, Gregg was sentenced to the electric chair by a Georgia Grand Jury and this decision was upheld by the US Supreme Court after many appeals. It was deemed that the death penalty does not violate the eighth amendment of the constitution that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Although Gregg escaped custody and was found dead one…

About one hundred and fifty-five years ago, Abraham Lincoln gave “The Gettysburg Address” on a blood soaked battlefield in Pennsylvania (Brown). “The Gettysburg Address” was first verbalized months after the battle of Gettysburg at a service to dedicate the opening of the national cemetery (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Lincoln’s Address was spoken to the citizens and soldiers of the union in the wake of the second invasion of the North by Robert E. Lee (The Battle of Gettysburg Facts…

Georgia court case that took place in 1972, the Gregg v. Georgia case circulated during 1976 and completely discredited the Furman v. Georgia court proceedings. According to The Harvard Journal on Legislation, “ Under Georgia’s new statute, an offender became death-eligible only if the offender was found guilty of a capital offense and then met at least one of the statutory ‘aggravating circumstances’” (Wang 514). In other words, the Gregg v. Georgia court proceedings reinstated the death…

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…

Capital punishment or the death penalty, has been used in the United States since the country’s founding in 1776. Back then, executions were performed publically throughout towns, and have been controversial from the beginning. I find the death penalty to be an extremely arbitrary and primitive act that should not be practiced anymore. We are at an advanced time in society and the U.S. is the only english speaking country to still practice this cruel and unusual act. The 8th Amendment of…

Moving into the nineteenth century, the abolitionist movement surrounding the death penalty began to come into effect. Many reforms were seen in many states during the early 1800s, including giving the jury discretion in imposing the death penalty and limiting the types of crimes (down to two in New Hampshire and Ohio by 1815) that were eligible for the death penalty. This is time when juries began to utilize their own power through the controversial actions known as “jury nullification,” in…

Gregg v. Georgia 428 US 153 (1976) History: The case of Gregg v. Georgia originated in the state of Georgia. The case originally took place in the Georgia Supreme court where the petitioner originally pleaded guilty to the charges brought against them. From there the petitioner challenged the decision and said the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth and fourteenth amendments. From this stage the case was then heard by the United States Supreme Courts. The United…

The most common and considered the most humane method of execution used today is lethal injection. Lethal injection is the act of injecting a lethal drug “cocktail” directly into a person’s circulatory system. In Baze v. Rees (2008), the Supreme Court reviewed the three-drug protocol then used for lethal injection by 30 states. The court ruled that the three-drug cocktail at issue in Baze did not violate an inmates Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments. This…

The death penalty is cruel and unusual punishment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits the government from inflicting this upon others. Many court cases have involved the Eighth Amendment which has saved people from death. Although, this number is only a fraction of the number of executions since 1976. Even “innocent” people are executed, only to find out later that they really were innocent. The death penalty is just another form of revenge. Families are in a time of grievance and want revenge…