Congress Acknowledged That Society's Accumulated Myths And

Whether To The Average Person, Applying Contemporary Community Standards, The Dominant Theme Of The Material Taken As A Whole Appeals To Prurient Interest.

Consequences Flow From A Justice's Interpretation In A Direct And Immediate Way. A Judicial Decision Respecting The Incompatibility Of Jim Crow With A Constitutional Guarantee Of Equality Is Not Simply A Contemplative Exercise In Defining The Shape Of A Just Society. It Is An Order

Perhaps The Bleakest Fact Of All Is That The Death Penalty Is Imposed Not Only In A Freakish And Discriminatory Manner, But Also In Some Cases Upon Defendants Who Are Actually Innocent.

If There Is A Bedrock Principle Underlying The First Amendment, It Is That The Government May Not Prohibit The Expression Of An Idea Simply Because Society Finds The Idea Itself Offensive Or Disagreeable.

At Bottom, The Battle Has Been Waged On Moral Grounds. The Country Has Debated Whether A Society For Which The Dignity Of The Individual Is The Supreme Value Can, Without A Fundamental Inconsistency, Follow The Practice Of Deliberately Putting One Of Its Members To Death.