Unusual Punishment

     Secondly, I believe the execution methods the death penalty utilizes make it cruel. In the US, there are five methods of execution currently in use. These methods are: electrocution, lethal injection, the gas chamber, the firing squad (used only in Utah), and hanging (Bailey). Problems with capital punishment methods stem as far back as the ritual itself. The eighth amendment, which is supposed to protect its citizens from torturous treatment and punishment at the hand of law enforcers, lets the enforcers inflict these methods which are cruel, slow and painful upon the person being executed.

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.

That question is a debate that has been occuring for years. The supreme court has previously ruled that the dealth penalty is not cruel and unusual punishment there for it is not violating the eighth amendment in any way. Despite how the supreme court has ruled the death penalty, there is still many arguments till this day on whether or not it should fall under cruel and unusual punishment. In 1972, the case Furman V. Georgia was brought in front of the supreme court to rule whether or not they believed the dealth penality was cruel and unusual. This case almost ruled out the death penalty, but that didn't last very long. In 1976, the case Gregg V. Georgia came in front of the Supreme Court and the earlier decision was changed because a majority vote believed that the dealth penalty was not cruel and unusual. Eventually four principals were established to decided whether or not punishment was cruel and unusual. The four questions were, is it degrading to human dignity? Is it arbitary? Is it rejected throughout society? Is it unnecessary? Which many states ended up believing that the death penalty were along the lines of those four principals. Clayton Lockett might be a tragic example of the death penalty going bad. He was getting injected, but the injection didn't kill him up until an hour after it was injected. He had to sit there and suffer and many would of

Many Americans claim that capital punishment is a cruel and unusual punishment and goes against a persons constitutional rights. On the other hand, many Americans support it and claim it is against ther constitutional right not to carry out the death penalty. How are we to know what is right? In all honesty, facts, papers, journals, etc. can not decide how I am truly going to feel about a subject that is very much a macro-argument. None the less, here Americans sit, letting “their” opinion being primarily based off of claims and subclaims made by one side or the other. I guess that is what we will do here. I believe that if we are to look at papers, we might as well look at

The state of Oklahoma alone has executed 195 people for crimes such as rape, murder and kidnapping. (“Crimes Punishable”) In the Constitution of the United States the eight amendment prohibits “cruel; and unusual punishment” inflicted on those who have been convicted of a crime. A total of 34 states have performed executions on people for various crimes. How do we know what is or isn’t “cruel; and unusual punishment”? Some would say the death penalty is stretching the ways of the law and others would say it is a complete violation of the constitution. The views of people are split evenly. People want others to pay for what they’ve done but may think that the death penalty is a little too extreme. Oklahoma is a very conservative state, and we like to do things the “old way”. With society changing so frequently we rarely match what the others states are doing and we could potentially be seen as a “bad” state. So the decisions such as whether or not to have the death penalty affects all Oklahomans and some aren’t okay with that. In the paragraphs below we will explore all aspects of the death penalty, and by the end we will find out what made the people decide the death penalty was constitutional and what exactly the people’s opinions on this subject are.

One example of wrongful execution is the Cameron Todd Willingham case. Willingham was executed in February 2004 by the state of Texas for committing murder to his three daughters by setting his house on fire. Prosecutors believed that the girls were abused and killed by setting the house on fire to attempt to cover up the evidence (1). Willingham had maintained his innocence and spent 10 years appealing for his convection up until his execution in 2004 via lethal injection. However, there were multiple issues surrounding the investigation method, evidence,

Some of the biggest opposers to capital punishment claim that it is unconstitutional and that is doesn’t comply with the “nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” part of the 8th amendment. The fact that the United States is the only G7 nation that still practices capital punishment, that would fall under the “unusual” section of the 8th amendment. Also, the words of the 14th amendment state that “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”, in the court case Furman v. Georgia this was shown not to be the case. Furman was sentenced to the capital punishment, but he appealed it. Anthony G. Amsterdam who was assisting with the appeal claimed that Georgia’s death penalty violated the constitution by

Death penalty is one of the most controversial topic brought up in American politics. Within America, there are 31 states that carry out the death penalty and only 19 states that have abolished the practice. Many people are concerned whether or not the death penalty is beneficial to decreasing the amount of crime rates. Recently, the Supreme Court had a meeting to discuss the death penalty and if it went against the eight amendment. The eighth amendment states that it has banned cruel and unusual punishments but the death penalty is going against the idea. Compared to the late 1990s the number of executions in America has decreased. In 2015, there were only 28 executions with 48 new death sentences. 2015 was the year that had the lowest number

if Alonza TThomas was engaged in a crime that warranted the death penalty he will be charge and accused of the crime he committed by being put into death penalty. he had to pay for the crime. . yes i think the death penalty violates the 8th amendment because it is cruel and unusual punishment. it is cruel to kill someone no matter how bad was the crime. it show people that if you committed a crime the same thing will be done to them. it is an eye for an eye. i disagree with this kind of punishment because a person can not be killed like that. i think they are so many options for people to be punish and pay for their rime. death penalty do not teach a person a lesson to not commit the crime again. i think society has to progress by finding

Death Penalty should be allowed under circumstances also known as capital punishment, where congress or any state legislature recommend the death penalty for murder and other capital crimes. Majority of the states are favor in death penalty, roughly around 32 states are favor and 18 states are against death penalty. In most cases, many argue that death penalty has violated the 8th amendment, where it bans cruel and unusual punishment. Therefore, they would go against death penalty. However, without the sentence to death, the chances of prisoner escaping prison are really high. If they are able to escape prison and get away with it, then they can continue committing crimes. Although some may argue that death penalty is harsh because if you kill someone; and then you take another person’s life, then why should yours be freed? I personally do not agree with death penalty because taking away another person’s life is not going to regain the victim’s life back. However, the victim’s family would want the person to be sentence to death, so the victim can rest in peace. I think that death penalty should be only allowed under circumstances, but then how can you really determined if the case should be ruled with death penalty? And how would the justice system know that they have made the correct decision? Did the decision of sentence to death turn out to be wrong, where the person is later found innocent? There are multiple of questions that people will be more concern about. The

The eighth amendment claims that there would be no cruel and unusual punishment. Furthermore, Williams writes, “In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court suspended the death penalty on the grounds it violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment (2011, 2)”. Supporters of this do not believe that it is fair to kill someone for a crime. The most common forms of executions in the United States are lethal injection, electrocution, and lethal gas. People believe that these ways of execution are in humane, and according to Williams article -- The Cost of Punishment -- “has no place in society”. Also, people who argue the death penalty say that it is a costly alternative to life sentencing in prison. ( quoted material from argues side cost of punishment.) It also says that on average it only takes twenty thousand dollars to keep an inmate in jail for a year, While the death punishment requires much more money to carry out. Whether it be because of the violation of the eighth amendment, or the cost to carry out, the death penalty is not in agreement with all of the American

The courts positions of the death penalty has changed over the years. For centuries societies have used death as the ultimate penalty for crime. In the 1960's, the court ruled against the death penalty as a "cruel and unusual punishment", which was forbidden by the eighth amendment of the Constitution. By the 1990's the death penalty was again in wide use supported by the court and Congress, which continually expanded by legislation the crimes for which death would be an acceptable penalty.

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

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

The death penalty is a prosecute that is used to kill criminals that have committed crimes that are so bad they should not be left alive. The idea of putting another human to death is hard to completely fathom. The physical mechanics involved in the act of execution are easy to grasp, but the emotions involved in carrying out a death sentence on another person, regardless of how much they deserve it, is beyond my understanding. Knowing that it must be painful, dehumanizing, and sickening. The Eight Amendment says” Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (Constitutions). And for the article Changing Views on\\e rate has gone down at a steady from the 1990 to now and that they death penalty is sometimes necessary, and it is our responsibility as a society to see that it is done.