Furman v. Georgia, decided in 1972, heightened the procedural safeguards due the capital defendant in the Federal habeas corpus process because of the serious nature of the death penalty. Cases decided since Furman are reviewed, however, to demonstrate how the Court strayed from the Furman protections when it became concerned with the increase in death sentence petitions entering the Federal habeas corpus process. Lower Federal courts have tried to maintain the Furman principles by retaining the availability of post-conviction review for capital defendants and avoiding the streamlined approach now approved by the Supreme Court. Capital defendants have the constitutional right to petition for Federal habeas corpus review. By abandoning the Furman standard, the Supreme Court is violating the Constitution. 461 footnotes.