我的法律知识的确只有小学程度，不过我不会因此就说那个网友英文只有小学程度。因为 Moratorium 这个字，特别是在法律上，这个单字的意义很复杂，小学生大概是不懂的。 ※ 引述《hifree (hifree)》之铭言： Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) 因为1972年最高法院的判决,558名死囚因而改判死刑以外的徒刑,有疑问吗? Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972) was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was decided in 1976. 关於 Moratorium 的意义可以参考 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moratorium_(law) 这或许可以解释CrazyMarc提出的疑问：既然都被判违宪了，为什麽美国到现在还是有死 刑。 另外，原Po转贴的文章中其实已经有指出这个「所谓的」死刑违宪判决的时效性： which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was decided in 1976. 简单地说，这个 maratorium 只维持到 1976 年。 真的仔细去阅读Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972)就会知道，把这个判决简单地 解释为「所有死刑都违宪」可说是颠倒是非，或者有意无意地断章取义。 看看关键的说明（最关键部份上色） http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Furman_v._Georgia （节录） In a 5-4 decision, the Court's one-page per curiam opinion held that the imposition of the death penalty in these cases constituted cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Constitution. Each of the justices filed their own concurrence or dissent; none were able to gather more than three other justices to support them. Only Justices Brennan and Marshall believed the death penalty to be unconstitutional in all instances. Other concurrences focused on the arbitrary nature with which death sentences have been imposed, often indicating a racial bias against black defendants. The Court's decision forced states and the national legislature to rethink their statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner.[2] 简单地说，5-4的多数大法官认为在Furman v. Georgia、Jackson v. Georgia等这几个案 件中死刑违宪，认为所有的死刑都违宪的只有Brennan和Marshall这两位。 这还不足以形成美国大法官会议的多数。 其实这个判例最主要的影响不在废死，而在改善美国种族不平等问题：过去（或许现在也 是）美国黑人即使犯了同样的罪，被判死刑的机率远高於白人。由於偏离了主题，就不多 谈，大家有兴趣自己去看。 --

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