Eighth Ammendment and the Twenty-Eighth Ammendment

U.S Constitution’s Eighth Amendment

Since the ratification of the Eighth Amendment nearly two hundred and twenty two years ago, the citizens of the United States have been under constitutional protection from excessive bail, fines, and unusual or cruel punishment. The following examines and gives a brief analysis of the origination and history of the eighth amendment, along with the provisions/clauses contained within the amendment. In addition, I think an amendment requiring a limitation on immigration and immigration services should be added as the twenty-eighth amendment to the United States Constitution.

History of the Eighth Amendment:

The eighth amendment was passed by congress on September 25, 1789. Back in ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights to protect individual freedoms from being infringed upon by the government. The language of the amendment has been traced back to the year 1215. In that year, the British drafted what is known as the Magna Carta of 1215. Within the Magna Carta came up the idea that “punishments ought to fit the crime.” With that, the provision in the eighth amendment directly states that there is protection from any cruel or unusual punishment. “Passed by Congress September 25, 1789. Ratified December 15, 1791.” This amendment, which was modeled closely after the English Bill of Rights of 1689

Excessive Bail Clause:

The first clause of the eighth amendment, protects U.S citizens from being held in jail on excessively high bail. The purpose of bail is to free citizens while they await their trials because they can’t be “deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.” Specifically, “bail is money that a criminal defendant (a person charged with a crime) pays in order to be...

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...with the eighth amendment, it would a feasible idea to clearly express the limitations that come with bail, fines, and punishment. My proposal for the twenty eighth amendment is not created to offend anyone personally within the course, but serve as a general purpose for a real life proposal on how the United States should tackle the immigration problem.

Works Cited

http://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/8th-amendment.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2013/11/guillotine_death_penalty_lethal_injection_is_cruel_and_unusual_punishment.html http://www.oyez.org/cases/2000-2009/2002/2002_01_6978 http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/05/the-fiscal-cost-of-unlawful-immigrants-and-amnesty-to-the-us-taxpayer http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/05/the-fiscal-cost-of-unlawful-immigrants-and-amnesty-to-the-us-taxpayer