Why did the Supreme Court approve guided-discretion death penalty laws in 1976?

In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Gregg v. Georgia that the death penalty was constitutional under limited circumstances, provided that states implemented specific procedural safeguards to prevent the arbitrary and discriminatory application that had led to the Court's 1972 decision in Furman v. Georgia.12

To address the Court's concerns regarding the "cruel and unusual" nature of random sentencing, the new laws approved by the Court included the following requirements:

• Bifurcated trials: The process was split into separate phases for determining guilt and deciding the sentence.2
• Consideration of mitigating circumstances: Juries were required to weigh specific factors regarding both the crime and the defendant during sentencing deliberations.2
• Appellate review: The statutes provided for mandatory review of capital sentences to ensure consistency and fairness.2

By establishing these standards, the Court concluded that states could administer capital punishment in a manner that was no longer "wantonly and freakishly imposed," thereby satisfying the requirements of the Eighth Amendment.12