In the Coker v. Georgia case of 1976, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a death sentence for rape is grossly disproportionate and excessive punishment, hence unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment's cruel and unusual punishment clause. The case involved Ehrlich Anthony Coker who had been sentenced to death by a Georgia court for raping an adult woman. In its decision, the Supreme Court emphasized that while rape is without doubt deserving of serious punishment, it does not involve taking of human life and therefore cannot be equated with murder in terms of severity and irrevocability. This landmark ruling effectively abolished capital punishment for crimes against individuals where no one was killed.

In the dissenting opinion for Coker v. Georgia, Justice Byron White argued that the death penalty was not a disproportionate punishment for rape, particularly when considering the severity and impact of such a crime on its victims. He contended that it was inappropriate to categorically rule out capital punishment in all cases of rape regardless of circumstances or state law provisions. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's interpretation of evolving societal standards regarding cruel and unusual punishments as reflected by legislative enactments and jury decisions across states. Instead, he believed these trends were inconclusive at best due to various factors influencing them beyond mere moral judgment about appropriateness of penalties. Therefore, according to him, this decision should be left up to individual states rather than being dictated by Supreme Court interpretations.