Death Penalty: The Eighth Amendment To The United States

The Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits the punishments that may be imposed by the government on American citizens. These limits are compulsory among the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. The English Bill of Rights of 1689 expressed concern with arbitrary and disproportionate sanctions, giving way to the Founders inclusion of the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. To explore the Eighth Amendment it is important to consider constitutionally accepted punishments, the ever-evolving practice of capital punishment, and eighth amendment protection inside prison walls.

Since 2012, the use of lethal injection has been legal in 31 states, to contaminate a convict. 1,423 people innocent and guilty have died from the death penalty since 1972. I strongly believe that the death penalty is unconstitutional being that it violates the Eighth Amendment, irreversible, and executes a large amount of hypocrisy.

The Eight Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted”, proposed on 9/25/1789 and approved on 12/15/1791. The cruel and unusual punishment confines the harshness of penalties that state and federal governments may inflict upon ones who have been condemned of a criminal offense. The excessive fines phrase restricts the amount that state and federal governments may possibly fine an individual for a specific offense. The excessive bail phrase limits legal judgment in setting bail for the discharge of persons indicted of an illegal action during the time following their capture but prior to their trial.

The death penalty has been carried out on hundreds of innocent people. This is unacceptable because innocent lives are being gambled and lost. According to The Washington Post, since 1973, 8,466 death penalty cases have been imposed and just under 1,500 of those have actually been carried out. The remaining inmates either committed suicide, died in

Thousands of people will attack the death penalty. They will give emotional speeches about the one innocent man or woman who might accidentally get an execution sentence. However, all of these people are forgetting one crucial element. They are forgetting the thousands of victims who die every year by the hands of heartless murderers. There are more murderers out there than people who are wrongly convicted, and that is what we must remember.

In addition to being racially prejudiced, capital punishment places innocent lives at risk. Recently in Chicago, a black man was released from death row after nearly sixteen years in prison. This man, Anthony Porter, came within two days of receiving a lethal injection, until the courts finally agreed hearing on his mental capacity. Porter was very lucky to receive an excellent attorney who managed to prove that Porter was innocent and led the police to a prisoner in Milwaukee who confessed (Kile). This shows the importance of the appeal process found in the courts, which serve to protect the lives of innocent citizens of the United States of America. A writer for The Christian Century writes, "Porter's case brings to light the very real danger that overzealous prosecutors, sloppy legal work and poor legal defense teams will send people to their deaths for crimes they didn't commit," (Kile). If Porter had an equipped defense attorney from the start, he would never have been to prison and nearly killed. Ryan Cummings of The Economist observed that more crimes are punishable by execution, more states have adopted the death penalty and the appeals process has been shortened. The overall expansion of capital punishment endangers innocent lives. Cumulatively, there is now less time and fewer tools to save innocent men and women

The death penalty can lead to the death of innocent people. For example, “…According to a new study, serious errors occur in almost 70% of all trials leading to the death penalty…”(Leibman). This shows that if 100 people were put on death row, 70 would have serious mistakes in their

Capital punishment has been around for many years as a way of executing criminals. Despite what most believe, capital punishment is not functional in the American society. Defenders of the death penalty often claim that the execution of criminals will teach others not to do bad, initially decreasing crime rates. Unfortunately, statistics prove that thought to be wrong. Capital punishment also has great flaws. For example, many innocent people have been put to death because of capital punishment. There also is no consistency. Two of the same crimes can be convicted in two different states and the consequences with be different for both offenders. The death penalty shows to be

No matter how heinous the crime may be, condemning someone to death violates the right to life and subjects the inmate to the ultimate form of cruel, inhumane, degrading, and primitive punishment. The right to life is the most basic right; and without it, all of the other rights and freedoms are somewhat meaningless. Even convicted murderers retain certain constitutional rights which include the Eighth Amendment 's protection against cruel and unusual punishment. America’s criminal justice system must abolish the death penalty because each and every method of execution has its

Cruel and unusual? This is one of the main questions debated when dealing with capital punishment. Capital punishment, or the death penalty, has been used for centuries as a means to discipline those who have committed heinous crimes. As time has progressed, so have the methods of executions including hanging, firing squads, electric chair, lethal gas, and lethal injection. The question that continues to arise surrounds the idea that these methods are being perceived more and more as cruel and unusual. Capital punishment is cruel and unusual, costly, does not deter crime rates and should be ruled unconstitutional in all states.

Although one might think that capital punishment leads to innocent deaths, this is completely false. People against capital punishment constantly claim that there have been numerous cases in which we have executed an innocent man. But the truth is that we do not have any records of ever executing an innocent man. The idea that innocent people can get executed on accident is highly false and inaccurate. Also, it is perceived that capital punishment takes away freedom

Throughout the years, the definition of a fair trial and punishment has changed. In some ways, our Judicial System has gotten better; however, it has also gotten worse in some cases. Our Justice System no longer has a clear understanding of whether or not capital punishment is fair, constitutional, or should be fully utilized. Some people say that the use of capital punishment is unconstitutional, ethically wrong, and extreme. However, others say that Capital punishment would honor the victims and help console grieving families. It would ensure that the perpetrators would never get the chance to commit such horrendous crimes again. It would serve as a deterrent to other people who might commit the same or similar crimes in the future causing less tragedy and heartbreak.

Capital punishment has always been an intense debate in the United States. It’s been questioned whether the death penalty is unconstitutional. It’s being portrayed as “cruel and unusual punishment” which violates The Eight Amendment rights in the United States Constitution. It is cruel in the way it lets people know that if you commit murder than you may be murdered also by the government.

Capital punishment or the death penalty as some people like to call it, is when a criminal is sentenced to death for the actions they have committed. Capital punishment is one of many major social issues. In America and other countries alike; you have people who oppose capital punishment and people who agree with it. I am one of those people that oppose the idea of capital punishment. I oppose this action for many reasons. One being that capital punishment drains millions of dollars from more effective safety precautions (Morgenthau 14). A second, a 1987 study in Stanford Law Review identified 350 cases in this century in which innocent people were wrongly convicted of crimes for which they have received the death penalty; of that number 23 were executed ( Morgenthau 14). Lastly, research has shown that nearly all Death Row inmates suffer from brain damage due to illness or trauma, while a vast number have also experienced histories of severe

Capital punishment, also known as death penalty is a legal procedure in which a state executes a person for crimes he/she has committed. This punishment has been implemented by many states and used for barbaric crimes, especially murder. It is also used on crimes against the state such as treason, crimes against humanity and violent crimes. There are mixed reactions on capital punishment depending on one’s faith. In my view, I am not in favor of capital punishment as I strongly believe that death penalty is unacceptable and an inhumane practice for it denies one’s right to live. Death penalty does not deter crime, it is an act of punishment, it costs more than life imprisonment, and worst of all, risks executions of innocent people. In countries where the death penalty remains, those victims die at the hands of that state but more importantly they are left to die by their own home states (Conall 1).