In the the Supreme Court case Gregg Vs. Georgia, Justice Stewart concluded that “We now hold that the punishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution.” (GREGG v. GEORGIA, 1976), answering the question of whether or not capital punishment is ever unconstitutional. Some may argue that Stewart is saying that the death penalty is sometimes considered constitutional, however, it is important to note that if we as Americans don’t enforce the constitutional rights of human beings at all times, the foundation of our nation will slowly begin to lose its strength. If in any way something can be declared as unconstitutional, then from there on out it will never fall into the realm of being constitutional. The Court has to come face to face with the claim that the administration of death, regardless of the offense, is a cruel and unusual punishment, is morally unethical for the government to be conducting, and is a violation of the Constitution.
Famous American cereal killer, John Wayne Gacy, had murdered and raped 33 adolescents, many of whom were teenagers, the justice system made sure this man could never do this again. The public is turning a blind eye to the many contributions the justice system makes, we should look at not only how we can reform, but how it contributes to society The justice system creates many contributions to society, such as the safety it provides for children and their chances of exploitation, the many instances where they convict dangerous individuals therefore creating a safer environment for the present and future of society, and the fact it provides all citizens of the public and private sectors, to have the right to a fair, speedy, and public trial,
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).
The american prison system is flawed and should be changed because it is very expensive to keep it running the way it is, the prison system is helping gangs grow and it can be fixed it is possible. I believe that it needs to change so that cities will have more tax money to fix other things and the people who don't deserve to get released won't be.
How would you feel if you were on death row awaiting the inevitable? Would you feel as though you are deserving of this punishment or deserve the chance to live? As of January 1st, 2018 over 2,700 inmates are on death row. This means that they will be put to death at some point in the future. Many inmates are often on death row for more than a year which gives them time to reflect on what they have done and the pain it caused. Being on death row often prolongs the pain for the inmate. They spend their time in prison fearing the inevitable which for them is death. Today, we live in a society that is very divided on this issue. There are many in support of the death penalty, suggesting that it acts as a positive deterrent against future crime. There are also many
The death penalty has been a major topic of debate in the United States as well as various parts of the world for numerous years. At this time, there are thirty-one states in which the death penalty is legal. Nineteen states have completely abolished it (“States with and without The Death Penalty”). Since its initial development back in the 1600’s, the death penalty has taken a different course in the way it is utilized. In its early days, the death penalty was greatly used and implemented for several offenses. Generally, the public sought out the stern implementation of the death penalty. But contrary to this, the use of the death penalty,
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. But keeping prisoners in severe conditions does not violate the Eighth Amendment because the storm effects were not intentional punishments. When prisoners are going to be evacuated to other prison one of many issue is overcrowded condition. When in time of emergency officers should be put through training and evacuation plan so in
The Eighth Amendment is all about punishment. In the Amendment it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”, as well as allowing the Death Penalty. I believe this Amendment is right. Because of the fact that cruel and unusual punishment wouldn’t be fun, I believe the Death Penalty should be legal, and excessive fines would be crushing to our economy.
Do you think that the eighth amendment supports the death penalty? According to http://th8thamendment.weebly.com/current-controversies.html “punishment given to criminals is supposed to give some sort of rehabilitation. If the convict is killed, then there is no point to the penalty.” This makes sense because if you get 30 years in prison or a fine, once it is over you get the chance to learn from it and to never make the same mistake again. Also according to http://th8thamendment.weebly.com/current-controversies.html Sister Camille D’Arienz, a catholic nun who started the Declaration of Life movement said “Capital punishment is the only time we punish the person in kind for a crime.” This means that we don’t rob the robber, but we kill the killer. Finally, according to, http://www.thisnation.com/question/018.html , Dr. Jonathan Mott writes, “In ruling that the death penalty is not a "cruel and unusual" punishment under the 8th Amendment, the Supreme Court has cited the 5th Amendment which the Court believes strongly implies that the Framers did not intend to prevent the use of capital punishment. The 5th Amendment guarantees that no one shall be deprived of "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." The clear implication is that depriving someone of his or her life is permissible under the
The Eighth Amendment or Amendment VIII of the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights, and declares that “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” , thus proscribes disproportionate bails , inequitable and degrading to human dignity sanctions for any types of criminal offenses, as well as monetary penalties that are exceptionally high.
One of the biggest arguments we have is the death penalty. This is one of the biggest examples of the 8th amendment that is used in court cases. This leads to big controversy of the death penalty that leads judges making sure they follow the 8th amendment. Lots of people use a defendant that the 8th amendment is being violated when they get charge with this punishment. This can
I think that Amendment Eight is important because you have the right to bail, which is very useful in some cases and because if you do something that isn 't even that bad you will just probably get a warning and before this amendment you would probably get put in jail. It states on https://www.google.com/gws_rd=ssl#q=amendment+8+definition, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This supports my answer because it says that that we now have the right to bail and we are free from cruel and unusual
Ronald Carlson wanted nothing more but justice for his sister who had been murdered. Ronald talks about how he would have killed the man with his own hands if he would have gotten the chance but his mind quickly changed after he seen his sister's murder being executed, he has a new view on the situation now. He talks about how watching the execution left him full of horror and emptiness. Ronald asks a question that should be addressed he said, “Our justice system should not be dictated by vengeance.” He asked, “As a society, shouldn’t we be more civilized than the murderers we condemn?” We should be more civilized, we shouldn't have the right to sentence people to death for three reasons, it puts innocent lives at risk, it's extremely costly
In addition, cruel and unusual punishment is cited in the Eighth Amendment along with 18 United States
Waiting in a prison cell for many years, an inmate in death row doesn’t know when his life will come to an end. This is a law under the U.S. government that is allowed to kill people who have committed a crime that’s grave enough. If someone commits a capital crime, they will be punished legally under the law. Taking a rope to the neck, or charging volts to the brain, it’s what people are fighting against today. Organizations are taking action against the death penalty by researching, publishing, and exposing facts whenever officials want to abuse their power with the law.