Capital punishment in Georgia (U.S. state)

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia reintroduced the death penalty in 1973 after Furman v. Georgia ruled all states' death penalty statutes unconstitutional. The first execution to take place afterwards occurred in 1983.

As of May 5, 2018, 72 people in total have been executed since 1983.[1] As of May 5, 2018, 52 men are on death row awaiting execution.[2]

When the prosecution seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous.

In case of a hung jury during the penalty phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial).[3]

The power of clemency belongs to the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which consists of five members appointed by the governor with advice and consent of the state senate.[4]

Lethal injection is the only method of execution authorized by statutes.[5]

Capital crimes

The following are the current capital crimes in the state of Georgia:[6]

  • Treason
  • Aircraft hijacking
  • Murder with one of the following aggravating circumstances:
    1. The offender has a prior capital conviction.
    2. The offender was in the process of committing another capital crime, aggravated battery, burglary, or arson.
    3. The offender knowingly created a grave risk of death to more than one person in a public place by means of a deadly weapon.
    4. The offender used or possessed a weapon or device capable of causing significant harm to more than one person simultaneously.
    5. The offender committed offense for monetary gain.
    6. The victim was or had been a judicial officer, district attorney, or solicitor general, and was murdered for reasons relating to their employment as such.
    7. The offender hired another to commit the murder or committed it for hire.
    8. The victim was tortured.
    9. The victim was a law enforcement officer or firefighter and was performing his/her official duties.
    10. The offender was in the custody of, or had escaped from, law enforcement or a correctional facility.
    11. The offender was resisting arrest.
    12. The offender had a prior conviction for rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated child molestation, or aggravated sexual battery.

Some of these aggravating factors apply also to rape, armed robbery, or kidnapping. However, in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana, that the death penalty is unconstitutional when applied to non-homicidal crimes against the person. However, the ruling meant that crimes "against the state" such as treason or terrorism would not likely be unconstitutional. Therefore, the offences of treason and aircraft hijacking would likely be considered a crime against the state in Georgia and the death penalty in this case may be constitutional.

History

The first execution in Georgia was in 1735. The offender was indentured servant Alice Wyley, who had murdered her master. From 1735 to 1924, the method of execution was hanging. The last hanging occurred in 1931. Between 1735 and 1931, over 500 hangings occurred in Georgia. In August, 1924, the Georgia General Assembly outlawed hanging and introduced electrocution instead. Georgia then used this method until 1972, when Furman v. Georgia declared the capital punishment procedures unconstitutional. Electrocution was re-instated, along with the death penalty, in 1976 as a result of Gregg v. Georgia. In 2000, the General Assembly passed a new law instituting lethal injection instead of electrocution.[7]

Overall, 1,022 executions have occurred in Georgia since 1735, the fifth highest total in the union.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State by State Database". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  2. ↑ Inmate Statistical Profile - Under Death Sentence (PDF). Atlanta: Georgia Department of Corrections. 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  3. ↑ "§ 17-10-31 - Requirement of jury finding of aggravating circumstance and recommendation of death penalty prior to imposition; arguments of counsel during sentencing phase; jury instructions; actions of judge in event of failure to reach unanimous verdict". law.justia.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  4. ↑ "ARTICLE IV. CONSTITUTIONAL BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS". law.justia.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  5. ↑ "§ 17-10-38 - Death sentences generally". law.justia.com. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  6. ↑ Georgia Code § 17-10-30
  7. ↑ A History of the Death Penalty in Georgia (PDF). Atlanta: Georgia Department of Corrections. 2014. pp. 2–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-11-18.


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