8th Amendment Essay

The 8th Amendment of the Constitution states that no one should receive any "cruel and unusual punishments" for the crimes they have commited. The death penalty is a violation of the 8th amendment, and should be banished from the USA as it is an unreasonable and extreme punishment that is unnecessary and avoidable. The death penalty is inhumane, irreversible, and much more expensive compared to a non-death penalty case. Currently, 27 states are still using the death penalty and many of these states are either Midwest or South. Methods such as lethal injection, electric chair, hanging, gas chambers, and firing squad are used to execute these inmates. To reiterate, the death penalty is a violation of the 8th Amendment of "cruel and unusual punishments"

The death penalty is an extreme violation of the fundamental human right of life and it also violates the 6th Amendment of Due Process. In 1991, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) along with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) advocated for the complete abolishment of the death penalty and it urged USA to comply with its beliefs. A numerous amount of countries have already abolished the death penalty, and it is time for USA to join them. Many states currently use methods such as hanging, gas chambers, and electric chairs to kill someone on the death penalty. These methods make the inmates suffer for long periods of times before they die. As of 1976-2022, there have been 163 executions by the Electric Chair which is considered the secondary method of execution for the Death Penalty after the lethal injection. In general, it is inhumane kill these inmates and make them suffer for long periods of

In this case, Ford was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty for committing murder. Over time, in prison, Ford's mental health was deteriorating and he was suffering from various mental problems, such as not understanding why he was getting executed. Because of this behavior, various physiatrics had to examine his behavior and he was diagnosed with mental health issues. The state court, however, still kept him on death row. His attorney then demanded a habeas corpus and went to appellate courts eventually reaching the US Supreme Court. The question was If inmates who suffer from mental problems should receive the death penalty. The Supreme Court decided in favor of Ford 5-4 and the precedent was set that an inmate that has mental problems should not receive the death