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Preferred term

Coker v. Georgia  

Definition

  • This landmark Supreme Court decision found the irrevocable imposition of the death penalty for the rape of an adult woman to be a violation of the Eighth Amendment, given that rape is a non-homicidal crime. The decision stems from the events of September 2, 1974, when convicted felon Ehrlich Anthony Coker escaped from Ware Correctional Institution outside Waycross, Georgia, where he was serving several sentences for aggravated assault, rape, kidnapping, and murder. [Source: The Social History of Crime and Punishment in America: An Encylopedia; Coker v. Georgia]

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Date

  • 1977

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/Coker_v._Georgia

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