In the summer of 1967, William Henry Furman broke into a house in Savannah, Georgia. He carried a pistol that night in case he ran into trouble, but he never intended to fire the gun. Instead, his plan was simply to rob the house as quickly and quietly as possible without running into anyone. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned for Furman. There are different accounts of what happened next, but one thing is known for sure: Before Furman fled the house, his gun went off and killed a man. William Furman was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in the electric chair. This chain of events provides the background for the Supreme Court's landmark death penalty ruling in Furman v. Georgia. This new title in the celebrated ""Great Supreme Court Decisions"" series recounts the story behind one of the most controversial cases ever to hit the nation's highest court.

Consultant editor: Tim McNeese