Podcast appearances and mentions of Furman V Georgia

In this week's episode, Lizzie and Arden dive into the landmark SCOTUS case, Furman v Georgia! Join them as they discover the facts of the case, how it abolished the death penalty for a decade, and why it should have stayed that way!  Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @letsgetcivical, @lizzie_the_rock_stewart, and @ardenjulianna. Or visit us at letsgetcivical.com for all the exciting updates! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

By the late 1960s, use of the death penalty was on the decline in the United States. But after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as practiced violated the Eighth and 14th Amendments, there was a political backlash. By 1976, Georgia had a new capital punishment system that did pass Supreme Court muster, and other states followed suit–including Texas. In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah examines how Texas reinstated its death penalty and quickly became the leader in the nation in number of executions. Texas has carried out 570 executions since 1976, more than quintuple the total of the next ranked state, Virginia, which has executed 113. Why does Texas stand out this way? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Chammah shares what he learned; how he researched this book; and how and why the surge of death penalty cases in the 1980s and 1990s dropped after the peak in 2000. He discusses elements of Texas history–including the use of lynching–that contributed to the use of the death penalty. He also shares with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles some speculation about what the publicity surrounding the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus at the end of the Trump administration might mean for death penalty abolition efforts.

By the late 1960s, use of the death penalty was on the decline in the United States. But after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as practiced violated the Eighth and 14th Amendments, there was a political backlash. By 1976, Georgia had a new capital punishment system that did pass Supreme Court muster, and other states followed suit–including Texas. In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah examines how Texas reinstated its death penalty and quickly became the leader in the nation in number of executions. Texas has carried out 570 executions since 1976, more than quintuple the total of the next ranked state, Virginia, which has executed 113. Why does Texas stand out this way? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Chammah shares what he learned; how he researched this book; and how and why the surge of death penalty cases in the 1980s and 1990s dropped after the peak in 2000. He discusses elements of Texas history–including the use of lynching–that contributed to the use of the death penalty. He also shares with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles some speculation about what the publicity surrounding the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus at the end of the Trump administration might mean for death penalty abolition efforts.

By the late 1960s, use of the death penalty was on the decline in the United States. But after the U.S. Supreme Court declared in the 1972 case Furman v. Georgia that the death penalty as practiced violated the Eighth and 14th Amendments, there was a political backlash. By 1976, Georgia had a new capital punishment system that did pass Supreme Court muster, and other states followed suit–including Texas. In Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty, Maurice Chammah examines how Texas reinstated its death penalty and quickly became the leader in the nation in number of executions. Texas has carried out 570 executions since 1976, more than quintuple the total of the next ranked state, Virginia, which has executed 113. Why does Texas stand out this way? In this episode of the Modern Law Library, Chammah shares what he learned; how he researched this book; and how and why the surge of death penalty cases in the 1980s and 1990s dropped after the peak in 2000. He discusses elements of Texas history–including the use of lynching–that contributed to the use of the death penalty. He also shares with the ABA Journal's Lee Rawles some speculation about what the publicity surrounding the resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus at the end of the Trump administration might mean for death penalty abolition efforts.

H.E. Miller, Jr. and Bradley MacLean, authors of a recent study on the application of Tennessee's death penalty (https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/study-the-death-penalty-in-tennessee-is-a-cruel-lottery), join DPIC's Anne Holsinger to discuss the findings from their article, Tennessee's Death Penalty Lottery. Miller and MacLean examined whether death sentences and executions in Tennessee are influenced by arbitrary factors like geography, race, and quality of representation. The application of Tennessee's death penalty, they find, is still as unconstitutionally arbitrary as any of the systems that were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia in 1972.

To die, to sleep — perchance to be judged no longer viable in society and sentenced to burn alive from within. Who is truly avenged by our cocktails of untested heartstoppers? Justices: why did we stop, then start, doing this again? Join us at the top of the scaffold of lies we tell ourselves, where we countenance barbarisms and watch the clock till it runs all the way out. SOURCES: - Michel Foucault, Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975): http://a.co/eerXzt2 ; - 60 Minutes, "The Execution of Joseph Wood" (Nov. 29, 2015): http://bit.ly/2kgmw8Z ; - Oklahoma's KFOR-TV on Clayton Lockett's botched execution (Apr. 29, 2014); reporter Courtney Francisco, eyewitnessing: https://youtu.be/d06awQ1L2TM ; - Furman v. Georgia (1972): http://bit.ly/2kIZ6bH ; - news clips on the decision in Furman v. Georgia: https://youtu.be/yeOykQHeRlY?t=2m23s ; - Gregg v. Georgia (1976): http://bit.ly/2kfGh0d ; - a cartoon on the case, produced (amazingly) by the Georgia State Bar: https://youtu.be/3-BNkWHmCqg ; - Bloody Code https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Code ; http://bit.ly/2CB3Bwe - Two Treatises of Government, by John "Hornsbury" Locke (1689) ; - 30 for 30, Doc & Darryl (dir. Judd Apatow & Michael Bonfiglio, 2016): http://es.pn/2ASRfPt ; - Glossip v. Gross (2015): http://bit.ly/2oGy6Pc ; - J. Alito, for the 5-4 majority: http://bit.ly/2oBvBh0 ; - J. Breyer, dissenting: http://bit.ly/2CZtAOU (& published in handsome volume here: http://a.co/7M59QDr) ; - Nino, concurring: http://bit.ly/2Bxk19L ; - J. Thomas, concurring: http://bit.ly/2BIRZua ; - Audio & transcipts of oral arguments (argued Apr. 29, 2015) on Oyez here: https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-7955 ; - Death Penalty Information Center: deathpenaltyinfo.org; fact sheet: http://bit.ly/2yiSHKz ; - Don Delillo, Americana (1989): http://a.co/bhyKIYp ; - music from the episode: http://bit.ly/2kHBjbX ; FURTHER READING: - McGautha v. California (1971), in which J. Harlan, writing for the court (6-3), said: "To identify before the fact those characteristics of criminal homicides and their perpetrators which call for the death penalty, and to express these characteristics in language which can be fairly understood and applied by the sentencing authority, appear to be tasks which are beyond present human ability." http://bit.ly/2kIHVqH

Today's episode is entirely Trump-free, and features a deep dive into the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause of the 8th Amendment. We begin, however, with a great listener question from Captain Patrick Dobbins, who wants to know the ins and outs of "international waters."  Ask, and ye shall receive! After that, the guys break down the history of the 8th Amendment's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment" -- what does it mean, what kinds of punishments are prohibited, and when did it begin to apply to state prisons?  You WILL be surprised. Then, we tackle with another listener question from Patron Cody Bond, who wants to know more about price discrimination, cake baking, and "Ladies' Night." Finally, we end with the answer to Thomas (& Andrew) Take the Bar Exam Question #45 regarding licenses for massage parlors.  Don't forget to following our Twitter feed (@Openargs) and like our Facebook Page so that you too can play along with #TTTBE! Recent Appearances None!  Have us on your show! Show Notes & Links We first discussed the thorny nature of what constitutes property way back in Episode 22, "Libertarianism is Bad and You Should Feel Bad." If you'd like to read the U.N. "Law of the Sea" Treaty, get ready to settle in for a lengthy read! The two death penalty cases wediscuss are Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) and Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976). The Huffington Post records Antonin Scalia's 2008 interview with Nina Totenberg approving of putting people in the stocks. The case we discuss in the "C" segment outlawing "Ladies' Night" in California is Koire v. Metro Car Wash, 707 P.2d 195 (Cal. 1985). Support us on Patreon at:  patreon.com/law Follow us on Twitter:  @Openargs Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/openargs/ And email us at openarguments@gmail.com  

This podcast discusses the history of the death penalty in Arkansas, how it is carried out in the state, and executive and legislative efforts to repeal or reintroduce capital punishment. Arkansas’ use of the death penalty has mirrored the politics of race in the state, and the podcast explores some sensitive issues relating to racial bias, lynching, and capital punishment. It also discusses the state’s reenactment of the death penalty after Furman v. Georgia and current issues with lethal injection drugs.

Vermont has a long history of sparse use of capital punishment and saw a steady decline in the scope of crimes that were punishable by death throughout the years. The death penalty was rendered invalid in 1972 by Furman v. Georgia and has never been reinstated since.