Brian Davis v. George Wigen

Oral argument

• Argued

  52 min recording
  Listen

Source: CourtListener oral-argument corpus (CC0).

How courts have described this case

Verbatim parenthetical descriptions written by other courts when citing this decision. Ranked by citation-network relevance.

• concluding that the death penalty for rape might serve “legitimate ends of punishment” but nevertheless is disproportionate to the crime
• ruling that the death penalty for rape is grossly disproportionate and excessive and thus cruel and unusual punishment
• ruling that the death penalty for rape is grossly disproportionate and excessive and thus cruel and unusual punishment
• holding that a defendant convicted of rape, without more, cannot be given the death penalty
• holding that the sentence of death for the crime of rape of an adult woman was a \grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment\ and thus forbidden by the Eighth Amendment
• holding that imposing the death penalty for the unaggravated rape of an adult is unconstitutional

Source: CourtListener parenthetical corpus (CC0).