Bowers

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ed for sodomy, with their crime defined as “deviate sexual intercourse, namely anal sex, with a member of the same sex (man.” (Lawrence) As with Bowers, Hardwick also challenged the legality of these charges. The Supreme Court decided:
“Bowers was not correct when it was decided and it is not correct today. It ought not to remain binding precedent. Bowers v. Hardwick should be and now is overrulled. …The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives. The State cannot demean their exsistance or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime. Their right to liberty under the Due Process Clause gives them the full right to engage in their conduct without intervention of the government.” (Lawrence)
Justice Powell, in Bowers agreed with the court’s decision, however, he pointed out that Bowers may be protected by the Eighth Amendment of the Constituition if he was given a prison sentence for his crime. Justice Stevens, with whom Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall join, believed that the court was wrong in it’s decision. He argues that the decision was based on sex in marriage...