1972+Furman+v+Georgia

Home TIMELINE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT: Who Is A Person In America?

Case 15 - Furman v. Georgia (1972) Corbin D. Place photos or graphics in the table below. Save to desktop, then upload by clicking on "file" on the menu bar (above).

Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**!
 * TASK I:**

Furman v Georgia 1972

Robbery Gone Wrong

William Furman was a 26 year-old African American, who committed a robbery in Georgia, and while fleeing the scene Mr. Furman shot and killed the home owner. He has been taken to court and was charged with first degree murder and robbery. His sentence will most likely be life in prison. There are also rumors that he will receive the death penalty, because it is used a lot in Georgia. There are a lot of people against him receiving the death penalty.

William Furman went to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had to decide if the death penalty was allowed under the US Constitution and state laws of Georgia. Five Justices said no, and four Justices said yes. The Supreme Court said that capital punishment was constitutional, but how the states were practicing the death penalty was unconstitutional.

Many states are rewriting their laws on the death penalty so that criminals will be treated more equally. The death penalty is still allowed in the US, but up to the states to decide. W e’ll keep you updated on this subject daily. Stay tuned for more information.

Reporter- Corbin Dennis Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: •open with an attention-grabbing headline • identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: correctly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited errors

TASK II What is the Argument? The argument in Furman v. Georgia is that that African Americans are being treated unequally compared to white people in capital punishment cases.

PROMPT 1: Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group? Americans did not recognize the rights of African Americans who received the death penalty, because they did not believe African Americans were equal to other citizens. In the case of Furman v. Georgia a man was killed in a robbery attempt by a poor, African American named Furman. Furman received the death penalty for his crime. Many Americans thought the death penalty was appropriate for African Americans, but not for rich white people. This was unequal treatment of African Americans. The Furman case helped open everyone's eyes to this injustice of African Americans that were sentenced to the death penalty.

PROMPT 2: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice? Advocates for the minority group in Furman v, Georgia shed light on the injustice by making the American people aware of this injustice. A main advocate was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Elaine Jones of the NAACP was the lawyer for Furman in this case. The advocates pointed out that African Americans received the death penalty in criminal cases more frequently than white people, especially rich white people. This was a violation of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. They also worked with the States to change the criminal codes so that they guaranteed equal protection to all citizens.

__Paragraph 1:__ Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole.
 * TASK III:**

Furman v. Gerogia had an important impact on African American’s and the American society as a whole. Furman v. Georgia was about unequal treatment of African Americans that were given the death penalty. Today, we see this impact through rap music. Rappers have an obsession about black people on death row. The African American rapper, Tupac, wrote a song called “16 On Death Row.” Tupac is rapping about a black teenager that was on death row. Tupac wrote and sang, “Bye bye, I was never meant to live. Can't be positive, when the ghetto's where you live Bye bye, I was never meant to be Livin like a thief, runnin through the streets Bye bye, and I got no place to go...Where they find me? 16 on Death Row”. This demonstrates through artistic work that the American society cares about what injustice to African Americans and how they are sentenced to capital punishment.

__Paragraph 2:__ CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument?

Furman v. Georgia had a significant impact on the death penalty and how it was unequally used against African Americans. The Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty law in Georgia and several other states. Thirty-five states responded to the Furman v.Georgia case by keeping capital punishment. These states used Furman v Georgia to create capital punishment laws that did not violate the constitutional rights of African Americans.

Works Cited

“Case 15- Furman v. Georgia (1972).” //Graves//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <[|__http://www.graves.k12.ky.us/‌schools/‌gchs/‌bleonard/‌html/‌sc/‌furman.htm__]>.

Cohen, Andrew. “The Death Penalty: Why We Fright for Equal Justice.” //The Alantic News//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2011. <[|__http://www.thealantic.com/‌national/‌archive/‌2011/‌09/‌the-death-pentalty-why-we-fight-for-equal-justice__]>.

“Furman v. Georgia.” //African American Studies Center//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <[|__http://www.oxfordaasc.com__]>.

“Rights of a Citizen.” //American Government//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2011. <[|__http://databases.abc-clio.com__]>.

Tupac Shakur. "16 on Death Row,” __[|__R U Still Down? (Remember Me)__], [|__Amaru__]/[|__BMG__]/[|__Jive Records__]__, November 25, 1997

An outstanding product will. •showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it You need to include the lyrics to this song (albeit with editing for appropriateness) to give your reader more context for your analysis. •be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find •demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece I question your judgment that rappers are "obsessed" with black people on death row, but it is certainly an important issue to them and anyone concerned with equality in the justice system. •use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art can reveal emotions and ideas Review the power paragraph format, remember each sentence has a specific purpose. •reference sources accurately •mechanics are clean and effective
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 17px;">TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **

An outstanding time line entry includes the following: • Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). • Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. • Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. • Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. • The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited.• TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source.• The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * Rubric for the Time Line Page**