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Importance of the eighth amendment
The eighth amendment simbel
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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 involved in a criminal case has to pay to be released from jail before their trial begins, excessive fines which is simply being given a fine for a crime, and cruel and unusual punishments, being punish for a crime that does not reflect to the crime. As of today, the juvenile justice systems are still being refined, although it took many years to even create juvenile courts. The delinquents of America were being placed on the wrong side of the law. In other words, juveniles were being placed in institutions with adults. Many kids who had nowhere to go or had done nothing wrong were the ones being incarcerated. However on the other hand, as for the kids who were on the streets causing trouble, the nature or seriousness of their crimes did not matter, just the simple act of committing a criminal act placed them side by side with adult miscreants (Center on …show more content…
They become victimized and mentally corrupted by the daily environment they deal with. In order to survive in prison, one must become an inmate, which leads to joining prison gangs and involving yourself in bad behavior. Juveniles on the other hand, need special care and help. They need to be rehabilitated and given positive guidance so that they may enter back into society as a responsible citizen. Proper education and positive role models are a necessity for any children at home so that they can be the leaders of
The adult system’s shifts leaked into the juvenile system, causing an increase in incarcerations even when delinquency rates were declining at the time. Juvenile reform legislations prompted more compulsory sentencing and more determinate sentences for juveniles, lowering of the upper age of juvenile jurisdiction, considerable ease in obtaining waivers to adult court for juvenile prosecution, and made it easier to gain access to juvenile records as well. Furthermore, it led to greater preoccupation with chronic, violent offenders, which in turn led to a redirection of resources for their confinement. Thereby, the absence of reliable criteria for identifying such offenders tends to stereotype all delinquents and is more likely to raise the level of precautionary confinements. These three major shifts in juvenile justice policy demonstrate the power and depth of traditional beliefs about the causes and cures of crimes in U.S. society. It also shows how the system can bend for a time in the direction of new approaches to prevention and control. Today, we are presently in a time of conservative responses where the prevailing views about crime express beliefs about prevention, retribution, and incapacitation that are profoundly rooted in our
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This amendment is the 8th bill of rights in the constitution of the United States of America. The death penalty is a direct violation of the constitution of the United States, and should be deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court. Although the death penalty shows justice at avenging the death of the innocent, it is not cost effective by being ten times more expensive than a criminal spending life in prison, and it violates the 8th amendment in the Constitution of the United States which is the supreme law of the land.
The eighth amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. New Cutting edge technology carries with it the likelihood of new treatment for criminals. A fictional example of such technology is Ludovico treatment, which alters the consciousness of a criminal and makes them non-violent. The use of the Ludovico treatment on prisoners can be considered a cruel and unusual punishment and thus violate the eighth amendment. Even though this treatment may be technically unconstitutional, it would be allowed in the United States for the betterment of society.
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 and unusual punishments inflicted,” states that cruel or unusual punishment will not be inflicted.
This quote by Edward Humes sums it up the best, “The fundamental question Juvenile Court was designed to ask - What's the best way to deal with this individual kid? - is often lost in the process, replaced by a point system that opens the door, or locks it, depending on the qualities of the crime, not the child.” (No Matter How Loud I shout, 1996, p. 325). The courts need to focus on what is best for the child and finding punishment that fits the child not the crime.
Studies and anecdotes have shown that our modern approach, however, is ill-equipped to reduce crime or deal with chronic delinquents while at the same time protecting their due liberties. We now stand on the precipice of decision: How can we strike an appropriate balance in the juvenile justice system? Should we even retain a separate system for children at all? The answers are usually difficult, sometimes subtle, but always possible to attain.
The Bill of Rights is a very important document to American citizens. The Bill of Rights is the beginning part of the American Constitution which is made 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 revised in the Bill of Rights. I think that if someone was to commit a horrendous crime that excessive bail and fines or cruel and unusual punishments could be necessary in some extreme cases. I am not saying that it is okay that someone should be beheaded, burned alive, or being dissected publically (Cornell Law), but some more minor things could be in ways acceptable. However, I do find it very reasonable to hold someone with excessive bails and/or fines. I think that it is very fair if the government was to hold a bail or fine that is extremely high on someone if they commit certain crimes. If I were personally able to rewrite the Eighth Amendment I would write it as “Excessive bail or fines should not be imposed unless it fits the crime committed, cruel and unusual punishment should also not be imposed unless the need was to arise where the crime was extreme enough for all the jury members should agree on a cruel or unusual punishment.” I think that the Eighth Amendment should be revised because of the extreme crimes that are now being committed are far worse to those compared to...
Although putting juveniles into institutions, for many juvenile offenders occurred in the first decades of the 1900s, extensive use of probation for juveniles existed as well. As it does today, probation gave a middle ground nature for judges connecting release and placement in an institution. By 1927, trial programs for juvenile offenders existed in approximately every state. In the 1940s and 1950s, reformers attempted to improve the conditions found in most juvenile institutions. Alternatives to institutions emerged, such as forestry and probation camps. These camps provided a prearranged setting for male juvenile offenders, while emphasizing learning and occupational skills. Though, the efficiency of these options as alternatives to incarceration was dubious since they were not obtainable to the worst offenders. Yet, these changes marked the start of formal, community-based instruction that would turn out to be more extensive in following decades.
The historical development of the juvenile justice system in the United States is one that is focused on forming and separating trying juveniles from adult counterparts. One of the most important aspects is focusing on ensuring that there is a level of fairness and equality with respect to the cognitive abilities and processes of juvenile as it relates to committing crime. Some of the most important case legislation that would strengthen the argument in regard to the development of the juvenile justice system is related to the reform of the justice system during the turn of the 19th century. Many juveniles were unfortunately caught in the crosshairs of being tried as adults and ultimately receiving punishments not in line with their ability
This paper will discuss the history of the juvenile justice system and how it has come to be what it is today. When a juvenile offender commits a crime and is sentenced to jail or reform school, the offender goes to a separate jail or reforming place than an adult. It hasn’t always been this way. Until the early 1800’s juveniles were tried just like everyone else. Today, that is not the case. This paper will explain the reforms that have taken place within the criminal justice system that developed the juvenile justice system.
The book “No Matter How Loud I Shout” written by Edward Humes, looks at numerous major conflicts within the juvenile court system. There is a need for the juvenile system to rehabilitate the children away from their lives of crime, but it also needs to protect the public from the most violent and dangerous of its juveniles, causing one primary conflict. Further conflict arises with how the court is able to administer proper treatment or punishment and the rights of the child too due process. The final key issue is between those that call for a complete overhaul of the system, and the others who think it should just be taken apart. On both sides there is strong reasoning that supports each of their views, causing a lot of debate about the juvenile court system.
The first two issues that eighth amendment prohibits is excessive bail and fines. The excessive bail clause prohibits courts from demanding excessively high amounts of bail, and the excessive fines clause prohibits courts from charging excessively high amounts of fines. The Constitution does not give a clear meaning on what “excessive bail and fines” means, but the Stack v Boyle case did (Lemieux, "The Supreme Court's Empty Eighth Amendment Promise”). Stack v Boyle was a U.S Supreme Court case where the bail was set at an amount of $50,000 which was higher than the bail set with similar and even more serious cases. This case established that bail and fi...
The Illinois Juvenile Court Act of 1899 was the first juvenile court established in the United States (Locked Up…). The juvenile court was created to handle the offenders on the basis on their rather than their crime. In the 1980’s and 90’s many states passed laws to try teens as adults (Should Juveniles…). The court system served to the minors under the age of sixteen. The courts didn’t typically support disciplinary actions. The people in charge did everything in their power to not have the victim spend time in a juvenile detention center or better yet prison. Remedial sentences were the most common types of discipline (Locked Up…).
People support sending juveniles to adult prisons for many reasons. One reason is that it is the job of the courts to help protect society. Once a troubled juvenile is sent to an adult prison, they are out of the way of society. Hopefully when they re-enter, the punishments they received will be imprinted in their brain and stop them from performing any wrong again. Another reason people think that disturbed youth cannot be saved is that punishment will not save them from themselves and they just need to be locked up forever. It is thought to be true that juveniles who are sent to jail will not commit the same crime again or even any crimes at all. All the reasons and opinions that say that juveniles should be sent to adult prisons for their heinous crimes seem logical. Despite this, they are not. There are more rational reasons why adolescents should be sent to their own private penitentiary.
Although there are two different justice systems, juvenile and adult, it has not always been that way. Our founding fathers read the Commentaries on the Laws of England, by William Blackstone who was an English lawyer (americanbar.org). They also admired the commentaries; therefore they began to apply them to our country. For instance, in the commentaries William defined a criminal, capable of committing a crime, as someone who had an understanding and has intent of the committing the crime and the act of committing the crime. As a result, America would make those who underst...