Prohibition against Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The better-known component of the Eighth Amendment is the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Although this phrase originally was intended to outlaw certain gruesome methods of punishments— 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.
Except for a brief period in the s, the death penalty has not been considered by the U. 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 jury.
Home Eighth Amendment. Supreme Court issued a decision that confirmed that this clause applied to the states as well. Cruel and unusual punishment refers to a form of punishment that causes a criminal defendant to suffer such pain, humiliation, or suffering that it is considered to be unconstitutional under the 8 th Amendment.
A punishment may also be deemed to be cruel and unusual if it is disproportionate to the crime committed or is seemingly random. In , the U. An example of cruel and unusual punishment includes torturing a criminal to death. Hence, why there are strict instructions for administering the death penalty. The 8 th Amendment affects sentencing in that it restricts the manner in which criminal defendants are punished.
It also prevents the government from imposing unnecessary and disproportionate penalties on criminal defendants who are lawful U. The death penalty would be an overly severe and patently unnecessary punishment for simply taking some candy bars. On the other hand, it may be reasonable and considered acceptable by society to give someone the death penalty for assassinating an elected government official.
However, the death penalty would need to be administered in a humane fashion, or else it will be considered to be unconstitutional under the 8 th Amendment. Additionally, the death penalty cannot be imposed on minors, defendants with intellectual disabilities, or on defendants who committed crimes that do not warrant the death penalty as an appropriate form of punishment. There is a specific appeals process for cases involving the death penalty.
This process will generally vary in accordance with state laws. It is important to remember that the death penalty is not available as a form of punishment in every state.
The appeals process for federal execution cases is just as specific as the ones implemented in various pro-death penalty states. There are different kinds of appeals as well as different courts in which each separate appeal must be filed. The process may also depend on the issues being appealed and whether they are considered federal or state law issues. In contrast, a federal habeas corpus appeal will only be available to criminal defendants who raised federal issues on appeal in state courts.
Accordingly, criminal defendants who are facing the death penalty should speak to a criminal defense attorney immediately for further legal advice. Again, whether an unfair sentence can be appealed for these types of cases will be contingent on a number of specific factors. Some reasons that could potentially give rise to an appeal include:. To reiterate, it is strongly advised that any criminal defendant who is involved in a capital case speak to a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible.
Today, the death penalty is not only regarded as a controversial form of punishment, but has also become a hot button issue in politics. According to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, only 50 federal executions had been carried out since That is until the Trump Administration approved 13 federal executions over the span of six months, starting from July , and ending with the administration in January On July 1, , Merrick Garland, who is the U.
Attorney General, placed a moratorium on all federal executions. Some services that your criminal lawyer may be able to provide or assist you with when faced with 8 th Amendment issues include:. As previously discussed, criminal defendants who are dealing with 8 th Amendment issues should speak to a local criminal lawyer immediately for further advice.
Also, be sure that you hire a criminal lawyer who has extensive experience in handling cases involving an 8 th Amendment violation. Jaclyn Wishnia. Jaclyn started at LegalMatch in October Another example where the Supreme Court found the death penalty unconstitutional is the Roper vs.
Simmons case in Roper vs. Simmons was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that it is unconstitutional to impose capital punishment for crimes committed while under the age of This case, in Missouri, involved Christopher Simmons, who, in at the age of 17, concocted a plan to murder Shirley Crook, bringing two younger friends, Charles Benjamin and John Tessmer, into the plot.
The plan was to commit burglary and murder by breaking and entering, tying up a victim, and. The most extreme form of punishment known to any society is the capital punishment. When someone is sentenced capital punishment, they are executed for their crimes. Muhlhausen believes that capital punishment is a worthy method to punish some criminals, however both agree that without a doubt, criminals deserve to be penalized for their infringement.
Evaluating the Arguments For and Against Capital Punishment Capital Punishment is referred to as the death penalty, is judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offense or as a capital crime. Some jurisdictions that practice capital punishment restrict its use to small number of criminal offenses principally treason and murder.
Prisoners who have been sentenced to death are usually kept segregated from other prisoners in special parts of the prison pending their execution. I believe capital punishment has ethical problems and is wrong because it decreases the value and dignity of human life. The eighth amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Throughout history, various forms of barbaric executions--lethal injection, electrocution, gas chamber, firing squad and hanging--have taken place as a punishment for capital crimes in the United States.
The death penalty is an ineffective and inefficient form of punishment. It must be abolished because it is inherently immoral and disrespectful towards.
Currently, over 3, people are on death row. The death penalty violates the Eight Amendment because the act is cruel and unusual, and because the punishment discriminates against the poor and the minorities, the punishment also violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Surprisingly, many victims on death row are mentally retarded or disabled.
Unfortunately, the death penalty has many supporters, and their main claim to why the death penalty should be constitutional is that the death penalty is a deterrent to crime, but research has proved their claim to be false. The most disturbing factor of all is that a significant number of the inmates are innocent. There is also the possibility that mentally challenged murderers sentenced to death were incapable of understanding their crimes and actions. This is implying that even if the crime was not perpetrated, the death penalty was imposed under irrational circumstances.
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