Essay On The Death Penalty Violates The 8th Amendment

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.

You don't have to worry about a criminal committing the same crime twice, why? Because they won't be alive to even think about it!. The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”, in other words, it protects American citizens from excessive or unnecessary punishments, fines, and bails. However, the death penalty is still an exception to “cruel and unusual punishments” when the punishment does not violate the standards of the Eighth Amendment. Based on the creation of death penalty in the eighth amendment, the constitution can be claimed as an inconsistently valuable but viable document in modern America. The death penalty also known as capital punishment is one that brings a lot of controversies but at the same time has been practiced throughout history in different forms and styles.

The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects us to not be putted into cruel and unusual punishments, but when it comes to the death penalty, things become more complicated. In my personal opinion, I believe the absolute interpretation of the 8th Amendment and that the death penalty undoubtedly violates the 8th Amendment. Looking at the case of “Furman v. Georgia (1972)”, the Court invalidated death penalty laws in the end because the justices considered the punishment of the death penalty was too cruel and unusual to the Furman’ sin, accidentally killing people, and disproportionately using the death penalty would result in more serious problems to the poor and minorities. This decision fully reflected the reliability of

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

Aside from the eighth amendement, its also questionable if the death penalty disobeys the Declaration of Independence. In the Declaration of Independence it is stated that everyone has the right to " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." How can they enjoy those three things if they are getting forced to die? The Declaration of Independence was established for every American on this earth, including the imprisoned. So does it make sense to take away those rights of the constitution when it comes to the death penalty? Many would believe

The eighth Amendment states that the government is prohibited from cruel and unusual punishment. The death penalty is a complete violation of this amendment. Every one, guilty or innocent has the right to live freely, and the government taking away this simplicity of rights, is unconstitutional.

There has been cases that brings the question is the U.S. prisons have violated human rights such as when looking at the The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (SITE).” “Excessive force” by prison guards constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. In a very important Supreme Court case called Hudson v. McMillian, 503 U.S. 1 (1992), the Court found a violation of the Eighth Amendment when prison officials punched and kicked a prisoner, leaving him with minor bruises, swelling of his face and mouth, and loose teeth. The Court held that a guard’s use of force violates the Eighth Amendment when it is not applied

In discussion of the 8th amendment the topic that will be covered is the history before the amendment has been attached to the Bill of Rights, the interpretations of the amendment, and the amendment in affecting this generation today. This amendment officially states in the Constitution, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (CRS/LII Annotated Constitution Eighth Amendment). This emendation is about the government mandating that punishments are not allowed when they are cruel or unusual. “…; but it is safe to affirm that punishments of torture [such as drawing and quartering, emboweling alive, beheading, public dissecting, and burning alive], and all the others in the

Throughout the history of this ever-expanding nation as well as many others, there have been times in which words alone were able to stop an action. Consequences were bountiful and punishment seemed to be thought of on the fly. For instance, a convicted murderer may have gotten thrown in jail, however a man who may have sneezed on the king would have been burned at the stake for “Crimes against the Kingdom.”  In modern times it seems nearly impossible to think that such unfathomable treatment was commonplace and, worse yet, a public spectacle. After many years of being free of British rule, the Framers of the United States Constitution had envisioned a society based on the treatment from

Anyone who has watched or still watches the show Law and Order(a show that depicts the criminal justice system),will know that the recurring arguments between prosecutors and defense attorneys on the show is the issue of the amount of bail that should be set for the defendant. The prosecutors will argue that the bail should be set high,and the defense attorney would disagree, stating that this is a violation of the defendant’s Eighth Amendment right. The Eighth Amendment states that “excessive bail shall not be required,nor excessive fines imposed,nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”.This amendment helps protect Americans against excessive punishments. What exactly does the Eighth Amendment allow?- In countries like the United States, where a person is usually innocent until proven guilty,the Eighth Amendment allows for the person to get out of jail for the time being, but not cleared of all charges until their trial.

The eighth amendment is designed to protect us from cruel and unusual punishment. Conservation of the United States Constitution, and all moral ideologies have been set aside. An old form of barbaric punishment and the saying "eye for an eye" is still being widely accepted by Americans today. The old form of barbaric punishment is capital punishment. No matter how "humane" the death penalty has become, it is still the killing of another human being. When people stand outside prisons and cheer that an individual was murdered, there is a problem. When people justify the killing of another person, there

The death penalty is not only inhumane but too easy for these criminals that deserve it. The life sentence is swift, severe and certain punishment according to The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU, 2015). Sentencing someone to die in jail is a pragmatic alternative to public safety along with murder victims’ families to still provide them with justice. The death penalty can be consider the easy way out. Being only about 20 minutes of terror. The life sentence gets more justice out of the criminal, they have to sit in a cell for the

An Impassioned Debate: An overview of the death penalty in America depicts the facts about the eighth amendment. The eighth amendment is the prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments (Masci 1). There are two significant cases that have inflamed the debate over the capital punishment, The Baze v. Reese case, and the Kennedy v. Louisiana case. The first case reveals the strong debate that the execution by lethal injection is inhuman and in violation of the eight amendment. The second case inflamed the

To begin with, the death penalty is seen by many, including government officials, as a righteous punishment but it is undoubtedly, morally wrong. These same government officials that stand by the death penalty are also contradicting the U.S. Constitution. The 8th amendment states that the federal government is prohibited from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment

The topic, capital punishment, has been a huge controversy in the United States nowadays whether it should be abolished or continued used. Many people believe that the death penalty is something that must be used to prevent criminals from causing more violent act while others believe it is morally wrong and can have defects. Capital punishment is a very serious matter as it controls whether a person lives or die. The person can be guilty or he or she can be innocent, one can never surely know. This important decision is put in the hands of humans who can make mistakes or have biased thoughts. The death penalty should be abolished from the United States due to the imperfections of the humans running the system and the time and money going to waste investigating in each and every case.