The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the setting of excessive bail or the imposition of excessive fines. However, it has also been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States (according to the Eighth Amendment)to inflict physical damage on students in a school environment for the purpose of discipline in most circumstances. The 8th Amendment stipulates that bail shall not be excessive
of the first ten amendments which state our basic rights as United States’ citizens. It ensures us of our freedoms that cannot be taken away from us. However, I do believe that there is a certain amendment out of the ten that should be revised; this would be the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment reads “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” (Legal Dictionary). I believe that this is the only amendment that needs to be
In order to have a good comprehension of how the eighth amendment violates juvenile rights, we must first understand what is the eighth amendment. The eighth amendment as defined by the United States Constitution is “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Amendment VIII). Congress passed this September 25, 1789. In addition, this amendment can be divided into 3 portions: excessive bail, which is amount of money a defendant
The Eighth Amendment states that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The Eighth Amendment has two specific “elements” which define an individual’s actual rights retaining to the Eighth Amendment. The first “element,” “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed” states that fines or bail should not be overly unobtainable or imposed on an individual. The second “element” of the Eighth Amendment, “cruel
The Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment Is the death penalty consistent with the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against the imposition of cruel and unusual punishments? This essay will address this question and present a short history of the death penalty in America. The Supreme Court considered particular applications of the death penalty in the 1940s and 1950s. In each case it upheld the state's action without addressing the larger issue of the death penalty's constitutionality.
for a long time in the forum of public opinion in state legislatures and most recently in courts. In 1972, the case of Furman vs. Georgia (Appendix 1) reached the supreme court. The court decided that punishment by death did indeed violate the Eighth Amendment and the prohibition against "cruel and unusual punishment." Because of this decision death sentences all over the country were set aside. Since then capital punishment has become an increasingly controversial issue. In arguments against the
death row criminals. For a period between 1972 to ‘76, capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. There are many reasons for why they thought that. The death penalty was looked at a cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment. This decision was switched when a new method of execution was formed. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are many opinions as there are people on this earth. Since the beginning of the United States there has been over 13,000
punishment becomes more heated when special circumstances arise” (Sternberg, 2). This issue brings up more arguments against the death penalty because of the constitutionally protected ban on cruel and unusual punishment which is protected by the Eighth Amendment. There have been nearly 15,000 executions that have taken place in America, the first in 1608 with the death of Captain George Kendall (Siegel, 410). Most of these were sentenced to death because of their own action of killing others. However
Capital Punishment is Not Only Unusual, But Cruel The most widely known aspect of the eighth amendment is the fact that it prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Cruel and unusual punishment is perceived as punishment that causes “an unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain” (Bailey). Is capital punishment cruel and unusual? It is one of the most controversial topics in America today. In effect since the 1600s, the US Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was “cruel and unusual” in 1972 but
Capital punishment has been in effect since the 1600's (Cole 451). However, in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment, which was unconstitutional according to the Eighth amendment. It was public opinion that the current methods of execution, hanging, electrocution, and facing a firing squad, were too slow and painful upon the person to be executed (Cole 451). The U.S. Supreme Court reversed this decision when a "cleaner" way to bring about death
most common form used today. There was a period from 1972 to 1976 that capital punishment was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Their reason for this decision was that the death penalty was "cruel and unusual punishment" under the Eighth Amendment. The decision was reversed when new methods of execution were introduced. Capital punishment is a difficult issue and there are as many different opinions as there are people. In our project, both sides have been presented and argued fully.
murderers. Presently, the Supreme Court of the United States upholds the execution of mentally retarded defendants and holds the belief that capital punishment does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Federal Constitution's eighth amendment (Wilson 345-346). While several states have passed laws exempting all mentally retarded defendants from execution, the Supreme Court has not changed its view on the matter (Shapiro, "Innocent, and": 43). Could it be that many states are focusing
Women on Death Row The eighth amendment protects Americans from the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment. Many death penalty opponents use this as the backbone to their argument against capital punishment. Other than being cruel, I do not think that the death penalty can be used judiciously in the United States or any other part of the world. Personally, I do not think that human beings are perfect and as such they cannot set up a perfect justice system. In any justice system that is
became the first important nation to ban the death penalty. The English instilled the death penalty upon America when it was just a colony. Ben Franklin opposed the death penalty as he helped write the Bill of Rights and the well alluded to 8th Amendment. In 1846 Michigan was the first to repeal capital punishment. By 1917, ten states had repealed capital punishment. By the mid 1960s, the death penalty seemed fated for extinction. Only seven executions were conducted in 1965 and only one in 1966
of an indirect democracy. Citizens live under a social contract whereby individuals agree to forfeit certain rights for the good of the whole. Punishments for crimes against the state are carried out via due process, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The use of capital punishment is decided by the state, which is legal in thirty-seven states. It is a moral imperative to protect the states' rights to decide their own position on the use of capital punishment. Capital punishment is a method
of several court challenges. In 1972, in _Furman v. Georgia_, the Supreme Court invalidated hundreds of scheduled executions, declaring that then existing state laws were applied in an "arbitrary and capricious" manner and, thus, violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantees of equal protection of the laws and due process. But in 1976, in _ Gregg v. Georgia_, the Court resuscitated the death penalty: It ruled that
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
The eighth amendment of the U.S Constitution has been a key part to the justice system from the moment it was created. It provides the basic rights that everyone deserves. The eighth amendment is very important because it guarantees many “freedom from” rights. For example, it protects Americans from cruel and unusual punishments. Without the eighth amendment many people would be punished in an inhumane manner based on the morals of the judge. The eighth amendment is crucial to the U.S Constitution
the the Eighth Amendment. Many authors have portrayed this unfairness in novels such as Sue Monk Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees. Throughout history cruel and unusual punishment has been a widely discussed topic and is evident in Sue Monk Kidd’s Secret Life of Bees through the struggles of characters in the book. Cruel and unusual punishment has been seen throughout history and has been shaped and molded ever since the constitution we have today was ratified. Being apart of the Eighth Amendment the cruel
concerns of the Eighth Amendment? Does it properly demonstrate that the execution of mentally retarded individual who has been convicted of capital crime is a direct violation of this amendment? Does the motion filed in 2001 by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of McCarver v. North Carolina address the concerns of the Eighth Amendment? Does it properly demonstrate that the execution of mentally retarded individual who has been convicted of capital crime is a direct violation of this amendment? The Eighth