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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Furman v. Georgia
Citation:
408 U.S. 238Facts
William Henry Furman was a 26-year-old African American man with a sixth-grade education and mental deficiencies. On the night of the crime, he broke into a home, and when the homeowner discovered him, Furman attempted to flee. While escaping, Furman tripped, causing his gun to discharge through a closed door, killing the homeowner. At trial, Furman testified that the shooting was accidental. A court-appointed psychiatrist determined that Furman had “Mental Deficiency, Mild to Moderate, with Psychotic Episodes associated with Convulsive Disorder.” Despite these mitigating factors, the jury convicted Furman of murder and sentenced him to death after deliberating for less than two hours. His case was consolidated with two rape cases (Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas) where the defendants had also received death sentences under similar discretionary sentencing systems.
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