8th Amendment Essay

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The ultimate consequence, capital punishment is a very controversial and sensitive issue within the United States. However, this issue dates back to the ratification of the Eighth Amendment, prohibiting “cruel and unusual punishments." Many of the arguments, both for and against capital punishment, center on capital punishment’s constitutionality, morality, and its procedure. In the United States Constitution, the Eighth Amendment states that a criminal must not undergo “cruel and unusual punishment." In modern times, with a wide variety of horrifying crimes being committed, it is necessary to revisit the questions regarding whether or not capital punishment is constitutional in the United States. While the Eighth Amendment may prohibit Before a criminal is sentenced to capital punishment, a comprehensive and thoughtful trial must first take place. Since the trial can end in the jury sentencing a criminal to death, a great deal of pressure is placed both on the jury and the attorneys for both the plaintiff and the defendant. Due to this, attorneys are encouraged to present all of the facts and make the best cases they possibly can. Moreover, the jury is also encouraged to carefully deliberate and consider all the facts, since they know their decision could end up sentencing a person to death. Therefore, cases involving the possibility of capital punishment are carefully scrutinized and organized so that, when the criminal is either sentenced or acquitted, the court can be sure of their decision. This can help ensure that the criminal deserves capital punishment. Moreover, as stated previously, capital punishment tends to deter people from committing crimes that could end up sentencing them to death. However, there are also some disadvantages with the capital punishment procedure. For one, the strength and influence of the case presented by the criminal depends on the expertise of their attorney. Meaning, in some cases, a criminal can be sentenced to capital punishment because of the

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