The Day the Death Penalty Was Struck Down in 1972
Each year we commemorate the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case Furman V. Georgia which struck down the death penalty on June 29, 1972.
WATCH this 2-minute video WTI Executive Director Herman Lindsey recorded in 2021 reading excerpts from Justice Thurgood Marshall's concurring opinion in the case.
Justice Marshall was one of two justices whose position was based on a conclusion that the death penalty was inherently cruel and unusual. He said "Just as Americans know little about who is executed and why, they are unaware of the potential dangers of executing an INNOCENT MAN."