The offender was a white female indentured servant Alice Riley, who had murdered her master.
In case of a hung jury during the punishment phase of the trial, a life sentence is issued, even if a single juror opposed death (there is no retrial).
[6] The following are the current capital crimes in the state of Georgia:[7] Some of these aggravating factors apply also to rape, armed robbery, or kidnapping.
However, in 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Kennedy v. Louisiana, that the death penalty is unconstitutional when applied to non-homicidal crimes against the person.
Therefore, the offenses of treason and aircraft hijacking would likely be considered a crime against the state in Georgia, and the death penalty, in this case, may be constitutional.