Here are what I believe to be the most significant death penalty cases that pertain to:
1) Why capital punishment is constitutional; and
2) The way we practice capital punishment in the
United
States today.
Woodson v. North Carolina (1976)
Click
here to read my summary and very critical assessment of the Court
in
these cases
Click here
for PowerPoint file on these cases UPDATED
SPRING 2009
Update: The Supreme Court strikes again! In a controversial 5-4 decision, the US Supreme Court has decided that execution for child rape in unconstitutional! After realizing that they had failed to consider a 2006 amendment to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (that made child rape committed by military personnel a capital crime), the US Supreme Court refused to reconsider its ruling. So, another 5-4 decision in a major case! The case is Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008).