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Death penalty cruel and unusual punishments
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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?
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 Amendment states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.” (U.S. Constitution, n.d.).
The question for this brief is executing those that are mentally retarded a cruel and unusual punishment considering their mental capabilities?
If a person suffers from mental retardation and commits a capital crime (ex. Murder) should the death penalty be enforced?
The APA and American people feel that this type of punishment for those who are mentally retarded is a cruel form of punishment and should not be allowed (APA, 2013).
The view of the American culture is that executing those who are mental retarded is against our morale's and values. Instead the Amicus Brief provided by the APA helps to give assistance in using a set of procedures to follow when dealing with capital crimes of the mentally retarded (APA, 2013).
The United States Supreme Court ruled that the execution of those who suffer from mental retardation is cruel and unusual punishment and voted in a 6-3 ruling to use alternate means of punishment for these individuals (APA, 2013).
In the case of A...
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... those who are less fortunate. Stand for a cause when others are unable to stand. Not every person who is incarcerated is always guilty. Remember that some people become pressured to admittance of a crime that they never committed. People who suffer from mental retardation are such a group of people. As the profession of psychology has shown it is important to follow facts and understand the situation before treatment can begin.
While the advocates are working towards helping those who suffer from this problem a simple fix has yet to be found. Many states and courts still disagree on the terminology that defines someone as mentally retarded and the definition can be very grey. With education, time and advocates those who truly suffer from this illness can seek intervention and still have their rights protected under the U. S. Constitution and the eighth amendment.
.... Madison was applied to this decision because the actions committed were unconstitutional. According to the Supreme Court the 8th Amendment was broken because the District Court of Appeal was giving a cruel and unusual punishment to Graham. The 8th amendment claus does not allow a juvenile offender to be sentenced to life in jail without a parole for a non-homicidal crime. Therefore Terrance could not fall through with this punishment.
In the case Ford v. Wainwright the court chose to side with Wainwright. Wainwright won this case since the courts felt the need to go against the eighth amendment since the amendment was not set in stone according to them. Yes, Ford was insane he shot the cop and must have not been held up to it or at the most being executed according to the eighth amendment. Was executing Ford a slightly over the top existence that he was insane? Although ford died while awaiting his execution he was still going to be executed, he still lost the case. Although Ford was convicted from killing a cop the detail that he was insane still doesn’t change so should the amendment?
Holdings: The convictions are affirmed because the court ruled that the Smith Act was constitutional and that the governments’ right to self-preservation at times overrules the rights granted by the Bill of Rights.
The opinion of the court was held by Justice Kennedy, in that the Colorado amendment was held unconstitutional on the basis that it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment on the United States Constitution. Kennedy argued the amendment singles out a specific group in which, it would make it so only homosexuals cannot receive the protective rights that are available to anyone else. This idea makes homosexuals unequal to everyone else because they are not guaranteed the same protection that anyone else could get if they needed it. Furthermore, the amendment burdens the homosexual community by not allowing them to seek protection against discrimination though the use of legislation. Additionally, Kennedy claims “In and ordinary case, a law will be sustained if it can be said to advance a legitimate government interest…” (632) By this he means that a law will be considered valid as long as it has a ...
Weems v. United States (1910) set a judicial precedent for showing that punishment must be proportionate to the crime committed and allowed courts to decide what is “cruel and unusual”. Lower courts allowed the VIS and that use sometimes came under question. Thus the case was sent to the U.S. Supreme Court to review. In Booth v. Maryland (1987) and Gathers v. South Carolina (1989) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that VIS could potentially lead to harsher sentences and yet upon further review reconsider their stance on VIS and overturn their decisions and concluded that the Eight Amendment was not violated by victim Impact statements on the ground that such statements did not lead to cruel and unusual punish...
There is still confusion about what is actually constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment.” There have been several court cases of interest that have challenged and redefined this concept. In Louisiana ex. Rel. Francis v. Resweber, a convicted murdered was subject to a botched execution, and subsequently argued that a second attempt at execution would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment constituting cruel and unusual punishment. While the Supreme Court rejected this argument, stating that the eighth amendment applies to “cruelty inherent in the method of punishment.” I found it interesting that in the Case of Trop v. Dulles the Supreme Court ruled that loss of citizenship did constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Courts position was that to revoke citizenship would be “to subject the individual to a fate forbidden by the principles of civilized treatment guaranteed by the Eighth Amendment.”
Throughout America’s history, capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used to punish criminals for murder and other capital crimes. In the early 20th century, numerous people would gather for public executions. The media described these events gruesome and barbaric (“Infobase Learning”). People began to wonder if the capital punishment was really constitutional.
United States, 1960). In another case, Alvin Bernard Ford was sentenced to death by a Florida court for committing first-degree murder. Ford suffered from mental deficiencies that began to worsen during his trial with the Florida courts.His case was brought to the Supreme Court in Ford v. Wainwright which ruled that the death penalty was a “cruel and unusual” punishment, violating due process for the criminally insane (1974). These cases demonstrate the legal issues that individuals with schizophrenia endure at the face of the courts. While these cases have worked to limit those with mental illnesses from entering our jail and prison system instead of receiving the health care that they need, there are still what was estimated to be 356,268 inmates in 2012 with severe mental illness in prisons and jails (Fuller et al.,
Many call capital punishment unconstitutional and point to the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution for support. The amendment states that, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment be inflicted." Those who oppose the death penalty target the 'cruel and unusual' phrase as an explanation of why it is unconstitutional. Since the Framers of the Constitution are no longer with us and we base our nation on the words in which that document contains, the legality of the death penalty is subject to interpretation. Since there is some ambiguity or lack of preciseness in the Constitution, heated debate surrounding this issue has risen in the last ten years.
Constitutionally, the case at first appears to be a rather one-sided violation of the First Amendment as incorporated through the Fourteenth. The court, however, was of a different opinion: "...
... rape or treason was committed ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). However, there are some cases where the death penalty is unacceptable regardless of the crime. In the Supreme Court case of Roper v Simmons the court decided that the execution of someone for a crime they committed when they were a minor violated the eighth amendment . The court case of Atkins v Virginia established that the death penalty is not an acceptable punishment for mentally ill felons (Lemieux, "The Supreme Court's Empty Eighth Amendment Promise"). The Supreme Court has also ruled that executing anyone under the age of 18 is an act of cruel and unusual punishment ("8th Amendment to the Constitution – U.S. Amendment VIII Summary"). The death penalty is the worst punishment a person could get, and because of that there are many restrictions on when to use it.
"The Constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act in the Wake of Romer v. Evans ." New
During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes. ”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment.
Execution is an appropriate punishment for people convicted of premeditated murder, rape, treason or child molestation.
The offender’s rights and well-being is also greatly considered when determining a route of punishment. Not only does the constitution protect offenders from cruel punishments, double jeopardy, and unlawful searches;