The Eighth Amendment It’s a late Autumn afternoon and a young fourteen year old boy is told that he has to pay $24,000 bail for stealing a bag of groceries. This is an unreasonable price to pay for the crime he committed. Luckily for us, the Eighth Amendment protects US citizens from unfair situations such as this one. The Eighth Amendment’s meaning and purpose has left an enduring impact on the citizens of the United States of America. Meaning and Purpose First of all, the Eighth Amendment is an extremely significant part of the Constitution. The Eighth Amendment’s purpose is split into two parts. The first way that the Eighth Amendment is important to the Constitution is that it protects us from high bail prices. According to http://www.annenbergclassroom.org, …show more content…
Firstly, punishments given cannot be given brutal sentences and punishments. The article states, “The better-known component of the Eighth Amendment is the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.” This points out that people cannot be punished in cruel or unusual ways. Secondly, punishments have to be proportionate to the size of their crime. For example, the article notes, “Although this phrase originally was intended to outlaw certain gruesome methods of punishment—such as torture, burning at the stake, or crucifixion—it has been broadened over the years to protect against punishments that are grossly disproportionate to (meaning much too harsh for) the particular crime.” To illustrate, this shows that accused people cannot be given punishments that are larger than the size of their crime. Lastly, death sentences are allowed, but must follow certain guidelines. The article from www.annenbergclassroom.org notes, “Except for a brief period in the 1970s, the death penalty has not been considered by the U.S. Supreme Court to be cruel and unusual punishment. As a result, Eighth Amendment challenges to the death penalty have focused on the methods used to carry out executions, whether certain offenders (for example, juveniles or the mentally retarded) should be subject to the sentence and whether death sentences are decided in a fair manner and by an impartial …show more content…
Simmons. First of all, minors are tried differently in court than adults. According to www.law2.umkc.edu, “ the Court considered whether it was cruel and unusual punishment to execute a prisoner for a crime he committed when he was a minor.” This shows that minors do not get tried as severely as adults. The article also added, “In previous decisions, the Court had found it unconstitutional to execute persons who were less than 16 at the time of their crime, but had upheld executions of those 16 and 17 at the time of their crimes.” This line from the article explains that the court didn’t think it was right to execute minors, but still did it in certain cases. In addition, the court found it unconstitutional to execute other categories of people. The article states,”(The Court had also, in 2002, held it to be a violation of the Eighth Amendment to execute mentally retarded persons.)" This excerpt points out that it is illegal to execute people with mental disabilities. Lastly, the court had to decide whether this case violated the Eighth Amendment. Thus, the article said, “Voting 5 to 4, the Court in Roper cited recent evidence to conclude that the execution of persons who were minors at the time of their crimes now violated "evolving standards of decency" and, hence, the Eighth Amendment.” This quote states that this case has violated the Eighth Amendment and therefore is
Therefore the question that should be asked is, Is the execution of a defendant with intellectual disabilities (mental retardation) cruel and unusual punishment prohibited by the Eighth Amendment ("FindLaw's United States Supreme Court case and opinions.",
He tried to flee, and while doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he carried went off and killed a resident of the home. He was eventually convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The question in this case is, “Is the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty in this case cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments?” Reasons for Majority
The Eighth Amendment is something we have came across before.” One of the biggest arguments we have is the death penalty. This is one of the biggest examples of the 8th amendment that is used in court cases. This leads to big controversy of the death penalty that leads judges making sure they follow the 8th amendment. Lots of people use a defendant that the 8th amendment is being violated when they get charge with this punishment.
The most important issue that must be addressed in this case is the principle of the “evolving standards of decency” and the uses of a national consensus. The “evolving standards of decency” were developed by Trop v. Dulles and have been implemented in one way or another in all of the precedents dealing with “cruel and unusual” punishment. It is important to treat these principles as an important aspect of “cruel and unusual” punishment jurisprudence, therefore turning from these set of principles would be foolish and a disregard for every precedent. However, it is important to acknowledge that each case satisfies the standards by using a different method; some use the presence or lack of state legislature as a judgment of consensus while others look at foreign countries.
I think that Amendment Eight is important because you have the right to bail, which is very useful in some cases and because if you do something that isn 't even that bad you will just probably get a warning and before this amendment you would probably get put in jail. It states on https://www.google.com/gws_rd=ssl#q=amendment+8+definition, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This supports my answer because it says that that we now have the right to bail and we are free from cruel and unusual
The Eighth Amendment prohibits inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on citizens. The judicial branch must ensure that the rights and privileges granted to American people by the Constitution are provided equally regardless of their race, sex, or sexual identification (Edmondson, 2017). John Doe after serving two years of a five-year sentence for manufacturing methamphetamines, escapes from prison by hiding in the back of a milk truck. When the milk truck makes its first stop, inmate Doe climbs out of the milk truck and walks away without anyone’s assistance. Inmate Doe manages to find a new set of clothes, catches a ride with a stranger, and shows up at a friend’s home.
According to A source the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits the use of cruel or unusual punishment or excessive fine or bail during criminal proceedings. Next, my second source says that The Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause is the most important and controversial part of the Eighth Amendment. In some ways, the Clause is shrouded in mystery. What does it mean for a punishment to be “cruel and
In that case, the Supreme Court held that prison staff (whether doctors or officers or any others) violated the Eighth Amendment if they were deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of prisoners.
The District Court of Appeal of Florida disagreed. It held that Graham’s sentence neither was a facial violation of the Eighth Amendment nor constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court ruled in June 2012 that juveniles convicted of murder cannot be subject to a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of
I am studying the tenth amendment and my interpretation of this amendment is that it is stating what rights the state's/government has over the people. The tenth amendment was incorporated into the constitution because the states and their citizens feared that the federal government would leave them with no power. The Tenth Amendment was added to the United States Constitution on December 15, 1791. This amendment was proposed by congress in 1989. The tenth amendment didn’t exactly confirm the amount of power given to the government and the state's’/citizens.
8th Amendment The Eighth Amendment is a very surprisingly important amendment that is commonly forgotten. This amendment was necessary, and more shockingly needed than expected. It was against the need and use for excessive bails or cruel and unusual punishment.
Would you like your home to be searched in the middle of the night and have all of your stuff thrown on the ground just because a police officer may think that you have been doing something illegal? Luckily your Fourth amendment right protects you from this ever happening. The purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to protect U.S. citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. During the revolutionary war the British had imposed the writs of assistance which was a law that gave British government much more power over American Individuals. Americans were very unhappy with the writs of assistance because many would be thrown in jail without reason or a very weak one and their property would be destroyed by British officials
Crimes are happening around us whether we pay attention to them or not. Those crimes as dangerous as murder are committed by all ages but should younger criminal in their juvenile age received the same punishment as older criminals. On June 25, 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles committed murder could not be sentenced to life in prison because it violates the Eighth Amendment.(On-Demand Writing Assignment Juvenile Justice) Advocates on the concurring side believes that mandatory life in prison is wrong and should be abolish. However, the dissenting side believe that keeping the there should be a life in prison punishment for juvenile who commit heinous crime regardless of their age.
It’s Not working out. By:Taija Jones. The 8th amendment says “Excessive bail shall not be required, Nor excessive fines imposed, Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” . With that being said if the 8th amendment applies for cruel punishments of death penalties then why is it still happening.
This is because the 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Giving someone who has mental disease the death penalty would be seen as a cruel and unusual punishment. Some may argue that even though the killer did murder the man, he did not show any empathy for what he did. This can be proven otherwise because of the fact that someone under the influence of mental disease may not always be able to control their actions. In similar cases such as the Walton vs. Virginia, and Eley vs. Ohio, the same practice was used.