Furman v. Georgia addressed the death penalty and the Eighth Amendment. Which is correct?

• A. Invalidated the death penalty for rape and other restrictions
• B. Upheld the death penalty as applied to rapists
• C. Declared jury trials unconstitutional
• D. Prohibited capital punishment nationwide

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is how the Eighth Amendment treats the way the death penalty is applied. Furman v. Georgia held that the death penalty, as it was being administered at the time, could be cruel and unusual because of its arbitrary and inconsistent application. Because of that arbitrariness, the sentences in the cases before the Court were unconstitutional, effectively stopping the death penalty in those jurisdictions. That’s why the correct choice says the death penalty was invalidated for rape and other restrictions — it reflects the broader point that the punishment could not be administered in an arbitrary way.

This isn’t about upholding the death penalty, nor about striking down jury trials, and it isn’t a permanent nationwide ban. Instead, it paused capital punishment and forced states to redesign their statutes to eliminate arbitrariness, a reform that later allowed capital punishment to resume under a more guided framework in Gregg v. Georgia.