''Maynard v. Cartwright'', 486 U.S. 356 (1988), is a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point ...
case in which a unanimous Court found that the ''"especially heinous, atrocious or cruel"'' standard for the application of the
death penalty as defined by the
Eighth Amendment was too vague. As such, Oklahoma's law was overturned based on ''
Furman v. Georgia
''Furman v. Georgia'', 408 U.S. 238 (1972), was a landmark criminal case in which the United States Supreme Court invalidated all then existing legal constructions for the death penalty in the United States. It was 5–4 decision, with each mem ...
'' (1972).
Justice Brennan announced in a concurrence, joined by
Justice Marshall, that he would adhere to his view that the death penalty is in all circumstances cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
[, 227, 231 (1976).]
See also
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Capital punishment
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
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Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. This amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of th ...
* ''
Walton v. Arizona
''Walton v. Arizona'', 497 U.S. 639 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case that upheld two important aspects of the capital sentencing scheme in Arizona—judicial sentencing and the aggravating factor "especially heinous, cruel, or deprav ...
'' (1990)
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List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 486
This is a list of all United States Supreme Court cases from volume 486 of the ''United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record ( law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, ord ...
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List of United States Supreme Court cases
This page serves as an index of lists of United States Supreme Court cases. The United States Supreme Court is the highest federal court of the United States.
By Chief Justice
Court historians and other legal scholars consider each Chief Ju ...
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Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
The following is a complete list of cases decided by the United States Supreme Court organized by volume of the '' United States Reports'' in which they appear. This is a list of volumes of ''U.S. Reports'', and the links point to the contents of ...
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References
External links
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United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Rehnquist Court
Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause and death penalty case law
1988 in United States case law
Capital punishment in Oklahoma
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