Gregg v. Georgia held that Georgia's death penalty statute was constitutional. The Court claimed the statute did not constitute a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore did not violate the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments. This case established a constitutional basis for the death penalty, but also established limits to how it could be carried out.

Troy Leon Gregg was found guilty of two counts of murder and armed robbery. Gregg was sentenced to capital punishment for his crimes. Instead of accepting his sentence, Gregg challenged the verdict and claimed the death penalty was unconstitutional. In a 7-2 decision, the Court upheld Georgia's death penalty statute as appropriate, reasoning the punishment could act as a deterrent for would-be murderers. Dissenting were Justices Marshall and Brennan. Justice Marshall wrote that “such a punishment has as its very basis the total denial of the wrongdoer’s dignity and worth.”

A participant in Georgia’s first death row escape, Gregg escaped prison the night before his death sentence was to be carried out. He was murdered in a bar fight in North Carolina hours after his escape.