Gregg V. Georgia - Decision of The Court

Decision of The Court

In his concurrence in Furman, Justice Potter Stewart remarked that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual." The Court set out two broad guidelines that legislatures must follow in order to craft a constitutional capital sentencing scheme:

• First, the scheme must provide objective criteria to direct and limit the death sentencing discretion. The objectiveness of these criteria must in turn be ensured by appellate review of all death sentences.
• Second, the scheme must allow the sentencer (whether judge or jury) to take into account the character and record of an individual defendant.

In Gregg, Proffitt, and Jurek, the Court found that the capital sentencing schemes of Georgia, Florida, and Texas, respectively, met these criteria; whereas in Woodson and Roberts, the Court found that the sentencing schemes of North Carolina and Louisiana did not.