In Sims v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1967 that a death sentence could be considered cruel and unusual punishment if it was imposed arbitrarily or capriciously. The case involved William Henry Furman who had been convicted of murder in Georgia and sentenced to death by electrocution. His lawyers argued that his sentence was unconstitutional because it violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments due to its arbitrary nature - there were no guidelines for juries on when to impose capital punishment, leading to inconsistent application across cases with similar circumstances. The court agreed with this argument, stating that "a penalty...should be directly related to the personal culpability of the criminal defendant." This decision effectively suspended all executions in America until states revised their laws regarding capital punishment.

In the dissenting opinion for Sims v. Georgia, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision to overturn a death sentence due to potentially prejudiced jury instructions was unnecessary and overreaching. He contended that there was no clear evidence of prejudice in this case, as the trial judge had instructed jurors not to let passion or sympathy influence their verdicts. Furthermore, he believed it was inappropriate for federal courts to interfere with state court decisions unless absolutely necessary - something he did not believe applied in this instance. According to him, such interference could undermine states' rights and disrupt local legal systems by imposing uniform standards on diverse jurisdictions. Therefore, while acknowledging potential issues with capital punishment procedures more broadly, Justice Harlan disagreed with his colleagues' specific judgment in Sims v. Georgia.