Corrections, Part 4
Question 1: Discuss the significance of Coker v. Georgia.
Answer 1: In the 1977 Supreme Court case Coker v. Georgia, the high court dealt with the issue of whether imposing the death penalty for rape represented a violation of Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The defendant, Coker, had been convicted of committing rape during the course of armed robbery and was sentenced to death. The court ruled that the sentence was disproportionate -- that is, the punishment was too severe for the crime -- and it is this lack of proportionality that makes it cruel and unusual punishment.
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Question 2: Discuss the significance of McCleskey v. Kemp.
Answer 2: the 1987 Supreme Court case McCleskey v. Kemp, the high court dealt with racial disparities in the application of the death penalty. The case concerned an African American man, Warren McCloskey, who had been sentenced to death for killing a police officer. McCleskey appealed the case on the grounds that a study had suggested that the death penalty was more likely to be imposed in cases where the accused is black, particularly when the victim is white. The court found the statistics on these disparities unconvincing and upheld McCleskey's sentence.
Question 3: Discuss the significance of Atkins v. Virginia.
Answer 3: In the 2002 Supreme Court case Atkins v. Virginia, the court dealt with the issue of capital punishment for the mentally retarded. The defendant, Atkins, had robbed a man and then killed him. Although Atkins was judged mentally retarded, he was sentenced to death on the basis of previous convictions and the viciousness of the crime. The Supreme Court reviewed the case because of changing attitudes concerning the execution of the mentally incompetent. The court ruled that because most state legislatures had rejected such executions, there was a national consensus that executing the retarded was wrong, and that such executions represented a needless imposition of pain and suffering. The sentence was overturned.
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