Thurgood Marshall and the Death Penalty Analytical Essay by Shaad

On October 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first Black Supreme Court Justice in the United States.  In honor of that important date in US history, paper #145206, "Thurgood Marshall and the Death Penalty" was chosen for this week's Paper of the Week on AcaDemon.  This paper focuses on Marshall's position on the death penalty,  particularly his opposition to the death penalty, and the underlying philosophy that informed this opposition.  The paper explains that Marshall believed that the death penalty is unconstitutional  because of the moral of modern society.  An analysis and critique of Marshal's arguments is also provided, along with the writer's personal opinion about the conclusion Justice Marshall draws .  This paper presents an interesting and thought-provoking anlaysis of Justice Marshall's arguments against the death penalty and offers a unique perspective of Marshall's philosophy.

This essay discusses Justice Thurgood Marshall's arguments regarding the unconstitutionality of the death penalty. It first presents Marshall's argument as it appears in his concurrent opinion to Furman v. Georgia, pointing out that Marshall is in favor of "loose constructionism", i.e. the constitution should be interpreted loosely and in light of prevalent morals. In defense of the constitution, the essay presents the aims of the founding fathers, and tries to explain why these aims are at odds with the liberal agenda upheld by Marshall. It shows how Marshall presents the history of the interpretation of "cruel and unusual" as it appears in the Eighth Amendment, and how he is able to use a similar interpretation to argue that the death penalty is unusual. While refraining from concurring with Marshall, the essay shows why his arguments are in tune with the liberal agenda that defines modern governance. At the same time it argues that Marshall's criticism of the founding fathers is misguided.