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. Inmate Doe tells his friend he is currently between jobs and needs
In Bell v. Wolfish, the Supreme Court had to determine if violations of the eight amendments had occurred under the “punitive intent standard” which distinguishes between incarceration and detainment. The court also had to determine if any violations of the eighth amendment had occurred which resulted in cruel and unusual punishment being inflicted upon the inmates who were primarily housed as pretrial detainees. The case alleged that within a new constructed federal jail in New York City
New York Times (NYT) column-writer, conversely a certified lawyer, Adam Liptak, in his article, “Supreme Court Rejects Alabama Death Row Inmate’s Appeal”, describes how a death-row inmate from Alabama requests death by a firing squad as opposed to lethal injection, that contains the sedative midazolam, for his death sentence, but was rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States. Liptak’s purpose is to demonstrate that the Supreme Court’s decision to reject the appeal may have been unconstitutional due to the means of execution by lethal injection causing “prolonged torture” rather than a quick death due to midazolam, which disputes the eighth amendment in the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Liptak develops
The Fourth Amendment makes people in American feel safe and secure. David Sirota author of “Does the government actually understand the 4th Amendment?” says,"a few years after it aired the director of national Intelligence admitted illegal surveillance was still taking place"(understand). " the Government’s unverified assertion that it has halted “systemic” illegal/unconstitutional surveillance by the National Security Administration." says David Sirota author of “Does the government actually understand the 4th Amendment?”(Understand). Sirota also states "The NSA is admitting that even with an outdated 1997 supreme court ruling it knows it cannot post mass collect metadata with no warrants whatsoever.
The 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the people from the government who may attempt to force a self-incriminating confession for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime. The only time that pleading the fifth is not possible is during presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury that discusses cases arising in the Militia or public danger. What this means in layman terms is that one has the right to remain silent and not have to take the stand during his or her trial. The issue in the article pertains to the reason as to why the national missing-children’s movement was sparked. It all began back in 1979 when young Etan Patz disappeared on his way to school.
Melissa Kay Olivieri 2516826 March 8,2017 Throughout Chapters 4 and 5 of America’s Constitution: A Biography, Akhil Reed Amar details the president 's powerful responsibilities and limits as well as how those relate to either a monarch or a governor. In Chapter 4 Amar focuses on how the president 's power will compare with other types of political power both foreign and domestic. One of the differences included the amount of time a single term of presidency would be-four years as opposed to a monarch 's lifetime reign, or a governor’s one year period. An important change in how the president came to be in office was that he was chosen from the people he would govern, this was not true of either monarchs or governors.
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.
In the scenario, a community corrections officer subdues an unruly offender who is in custody by spraying mace on the offender, and it also affects another alleged violator in an adjoining area. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution states that there should not be any cruel or unusual punishments inflicted (U.S. Const. amend. VIII). Based on the facts in the scenario, I do not believe that the offender in custody or the alleged probation violator waiting had their Constitutional rights violated.
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.
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.
The eighth amendment is a protection for American citizens against “cruel and unusual punishment” and “excessive bail”. Roper v Simmons also violates the fourteenth amendment which addresses rights and citizenship, this became another hurdle in the case. The fourteenth amendment states “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” , in Roper v Simmons the Missouri Supreme Court was close to depriving Christopher Simmons of his life. Since Roper V Simmons states have reevaluated their minimum age for death penalty, 30 states do not even have a death penalty or capital punishment anymore. Cornell Law has also argued that because of Simmons’s age he was mentally incompetent, at the age at 17 Simmons is not eligible to “drink, serve on juries or even see certain movies…” , this was very intimidating and scary to Simmons’s prosecutor.
The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech could probably be considered the most powerful amendments of the Constitution. If we didn’t have this right, many of our ideas and beliefs would not be real today. All American citizens have the right to talk about what’s on their minds and say what they believe in. As Derek Bok mentions in his essay and unfortunately for people who disagree, With the Supreme Court’s rulings, the demonstration of these flags clearly falls within the protection of the free-speech clause of the First Amendment and that they can in no way be banned merely because they may seem offensive or may someone else’s feelings. “These rulings apply to all agencies of government, including public universities”.
There was a recent storm in Hollywood, Florida that left many homes without power. This storm also affected prisoners that were still kept in prisons that lacked of power, supplies, and plumbing during the emergency. This situation relates to The Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment protects people from “cruel or unusual punishment”. Some might view that keeping them in prisons is wrong and against their will.
One element I find very interesting of the United States Constitution is the Tenth Amendment. The Tenth Amendment says, “The power not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” This is basically alluding to the idea that if a power is not directly given to the federal government is given to the states. I believe that one of the main reasons that this amendment was included in the Constitution because the Founding Fathers knew it needed to be a vital rule set from the beginning because it helped further their ideals of the balance of power.
Some people say Thaddeus Stevens’ quote “The greatest measure of the 19th century was passed by corruption, aided and abetted by the purest man in the world” is over exaggerated. However, this quote is the truth behind the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment. In simpler terms, the Thirteenth Amendment was passed due to corruption, bargaining, and the help of Abraham Lincoln. Throughout the course of the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, Lincoln requested a re-voting of the Amendment, bargained with the House members, and never told a lie.
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.