The First Eight Amendments

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The constitution of the United States of America contains the amendments that give American citizens their everyday rights and privileges. “Within the first eight amendments of the Bill of Rights, there are 25 specific liberties and protections for individuals. Of those 25 protections, fifteen relate directly to the criminal process.” This information comes from sixthamendment.org. These amendments include things like: freedom of speech, the right to a speedy and fair trail, the right to a grand jury and right to a fair trial in cases of criminal trials, and the right to bail. In this essay we will discuss only the Fifth, Sixth and Eighth amendment and how it protects the citizens of the United States. The Fifth amendment which was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789 and was ratified on December 15, 1791 states that “providing chiefly that no person be required to testify against himself or herself in a criminal case and that no person be subjected to a second trial for an offense for which he or she has been duly tried previously.” This means that the defendant does not have to testify why he or she is guilty or not guilty. This amendment also protects against double jeopardy. Double jeopardy is the prosecution of a person twice …show more content…

The Eighth amendment which was passed by Congress on September 25, 1789 and was ratified on December 15, 1791 states that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This helps protect citizens by not allowing the judge to assign the defendant an excessive bail without knowing whether he or she is guilty of the crime in question. The second part states that there shall be no cruel or unusual punishment although it has not really been determined what is cruel and what is not. Things like branding, strangulation, being locked in stocks or burned where still means of punishment when the Eighth amendment was

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