pbsthisdayinhistory:June 29, 1972: Supreme Court Strikes Down Death PenaltyOn this day in 1972, the
pbsthisdayinhistory:June 29, 1972: Supreme Court Strikes Down Death PenaltyOn this day in 1972, the Supreme Court decided that capital punishment on a state and federal level was unconstitutional. In the Furman v. Georgia decision, the Court held that the death penalty fell under “cruel and unusual punishment” and violated the Eight and Fourteenth Amendments. This was the first time the Supreme Court had ruled against capital punishment. Soon after the ruling, many states rewrote their death penalty statutes and the death penalty was reinstated with the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976.Learn more with FRONTLINE’s “History of the Death Penalty.”Photo: Rows of prison cells (iStockphoto). -- source link
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