Challenges to the Death Penalty Leading to it Being Declared Unconstitutional (s2a)

The Supreme Court Declares the Death Penalty Unconstitutional (Then Upholds it 4 Years Later) After rejecting a challenge to the death penalty based on a denial of due process in 1971, the Supreme Court declared capital punishment unconstitutional in 1972 in the case of Furman v. Georgia. Five members of the Court found that the penalty was “cruel and unusual” in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, although each of the five justices had different reasons for reaching that conclusion.