The Supreme Court ruled that Georgia’s use of capital punishment was constitutional, despite statistical studies showing that killers of white victims were four times more likely to be executed than killers of black victims.
Warren
By a 5-4 margin, the Supreme Court rejected McCleskey’s claim. Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr.’s
The four dissenters answered that the death penalty should be judged by standards more rigorous than those used in other sentences. They also found it unacceptable to accept the risk of racial considerations influencing whether a defendant would live or die.
Capital punishment
Eighth Amendment
Equal protection clause
Gregg v. Georgia
Race and discrimination