In Furman v Georgia, the Supreme Court ruled that in certain cases, the death penalty was cruel and unusual. How did this ruling impact the rights of persons accused of a crime?

The Supreme Court's ruling forced all states, if they employed the death penalty for any crimes, to take measures to ensure that they did not do so in any manner that that showed discrimination or was applied arbitrarily rather than according to consistent practice.

In the short run, it meant a moratorium on capital punishment while states reevaluated their criminal justice practices.