Furman v. Georgia Quotes
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Source: Furman v. Georgia
Author: Thurgood Marshall
"In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute."
In striking down capital punishment, this Court does not malign our system of government. On the contrary, it pays homage to it. Only in a free society could right triumph in difficult times, and could civilization record its magnificent advancement. In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute. We achieve "a major milestone in the long road up from barbarism" and join the approximately 70 other jurisdictions in the world which celebrate their regard for civilization and humanity by shunning capital punishment.
Context
This line was written by Thurgood Marshall in Furman v. Georgia (1972).
Furman v. Georgia is a pretty famous Supreme Court case because it's the one where the court outlawed the death penalty…for a few years. Sure, capital punishment was back in 1976, but it was a pretty good run. Basically, the majority of justices ruled that the way states were handing out death sentences was cruel and unusual, so states went back and fixed those little boo-boos and then the court was cool with states putting people to death again. So, yay for judicial review, right?
Anyway, that's not what Thurgood Marshall was arguing in his concurring opinion. He was of the mind that the death penalty in and of itself was cruel and unusual. Full stop. End of (death) sentence. There was no work-around that the states could do to make it a-okay. That's what he's talking about when he says that we're better people when we recognize the humanity in others. Yes, that means even in murderers and rapists. People are people even when they do very bad things. That means it's not okay for society to kill them. No, not even if we really, really want to.
Where you've heard it
This quote is all about loving your fellow man, so you'll often hear it in this context (and not necessarily with its original anti-death penalty meaning in tact). That's okay. Pile on the love. Shmoop won't judge.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
If loving your fellow man (or woman) is wrong, we don't wanna be right. We also don't wanna be pretentious, which we won't be if we use this quote, which is all about seeing the humanity in others.