There are wide and divergent opinions on the United States Supreme Court's decisions regarding capital punishment. While proponents of capital punishment argue that it can be applied as if it were sufficient due process, others argue that human life is irreplaceable and that "every person has the right that his or her life is respected” (Oppenheim, “Capital Punishment in the United States”). States"). While capital punishment has been gradually introduced and removed from the United States criminal justice system over the past several decades, current trends appear to be losing favor for the death penalty. As Snell reports, at the end of 2011, there were 3,082 inmates in 35 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons on death row, where 9 states executed 43 inmates in 2011 and 2012 ("Capital Punishment, 2011 – Statistical tables"). . In order to gain a deeper understanding and better projection of the evolution of the death penalty, it is prudent to first examine the historical accounts of cases that have been decided for or against capital punishment in the United States. United. In 1972, the Furman v. Georgia, 408 US 238 became preeminent and introduced the concept of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments when considering decisions against the death penalty. In the case of Furman v. Georgia, William Furman was the defendant who fatally shot a homeowner when he burglarized the house in Savannah, Georgia in 1967. As Furman was African American, he committed a crime against a white homeowner in the South . is considered an area of ​​racial discrimination, the jury, composed almost entirely of whites, handed down a death sentence in less than a day of trial and deliberation (Oshinsky, 1). Furman's attorney later appealed the decision to the Supreme Court...... middle of paper ...... recent developments." University of Alaska Anchorage. Np, June 27, 2012. Web. December 2, 2013. United States Supreme Court. Callins v. Collins 510 US 1141 (1994). United States Supreme Court v. OKLAHOMA. . 1972. United States Supreme Court v. GEORGIA 428 US153 (1976). . US Supreme Court. PENRY V. LYNAUGH, 492 US Supreme Court. UNITED STATES, 217 US 349, 378 (1910). United States Supreme Court v. NORTH CAROLINA 428 US 280 (1976)...