Coker v.
Georgia was a landmark Supreme Court decision that abolished the death penalty for the crime of rape of an adult woman, finding it to be "grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment."
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The case involved Ehrlich Anthony Coker, who was convicted of rape, kidnapping, and escape in Georgia.
The Court's ruling in Coker v.
Georgia was based on the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment." The Justices found that the death penalty was disproportionate to the crime of rape.
Prior to Coker, several states had authorized the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman.
The Court's decision effectively ended this practice across the country.
Coker v.
Georgia had a significant impact on capital punishment jurisprudence, as it established that the death penalty could only be imposed for the "most serious" crimes, such as murder.
In the years following Coker, the Supreme Court continued to limit the use of the death penalty, ruling it unconstitutional for certain crimes and offenders, such as juveniles and the intellectually disabled.
Despite the Coker ruling, a few states maintained statutes that authorized the death penalty for the rape of a child.
However, in 2008, the Court expanded its reasoning in Coker to strike down these child rape statutes in Kennedy v.
Louisiana.
Coker v.
Georgia was a 7-2 decision, with Justices Burger and Rehnquist dissenting.
The majority opinion was written by Justice White, who emphasized the Court's role in determining what punishments are "cruel and unusual."
The Coker decision was based on the Court's "evolving standards of decency" test, which looks at public opinion, legislative trends, and other factors to assess whether a punishment is proportionate to the crime.
Coker v.
Georgia was a significant victory for the anti-death penalty movement, which had been advocating for the Supreme Court to limit the application of capital punishment.
The Coker ruling has been influential in shaping the Court's subsequent decisions on the death penalty, including its rulings on age-based and mental capacity-based restrictions.
Coker v.
Georgia is considered a landmark case in the ongoing debate over the constitutionality and appropriate use of the death penalty in the United States.