In the cases of ‘Coker V. Georgia’ and ‘Kennedy V. Louisiana’ a very important question was brought up; does the death penalty constitute for cruel and unusual punishment in regards to the rape of an adult woman or child? Most people can attest to rape being one of the most egregious criminal acts, but how do we keep a fair punishment, and not lose sight of the reasoning in our eighth amendment in such cases? Case Information In the case of Coker V. Georgia, a man by the name of Ehrlich Coker, who was already imprisoned for multiple cases of rape among many other offenses, escaped prison and raped again along with several other unsavory acts. He was sentenced to death for his post-escape rape.
The Eighth amendment causes a big controversial in everyday cases. The 8th amendment is about, no cruel and unusual punishment. This means you can't get severely punished or be punished for no reason. “These bill of rights were written by James Madison.’ ” These bills were ratified in December 15, 1791.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, and the debate about its abolition is the largest point of the essay written by Steve Earle, titled "A Death in Texas”. This form of punishment should be abolished for 3 reasons; First, It does not seem to have a direct effect on deterring murder rates, It has negative effects on society, and is inconsistent with American ideals. To begin, the death penalty is unnecessary since it is ineffective at deterring rates of murder. In fact, 88% of the country's top criminologists do not believe the death penalty acts as a deterrent to homicide, according to the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. In opposition, supporters may argue that it may indeed help to deter murder rates as they have
There might be improstion to taking the 8th amendment out of the factor of basically killing someone for breaking the law. Yeah they might have broken the law but killing A person so brutally doesn’t seem fair. If the death penalty never existed then how much different would america even be? In supreme court they stated “The death penalty law isn’t violating the 8th amendment it is somewhat brought into decision “ . My only question is how does the death penalty not violate the 8th amendment?
Sam-The Eighth Amendment ways have always been changed and interpreted throughout years. To begin with the Thompson v. Oklahoma case. Thompson, who was 15 participated in a brutal murder. He was then tried as an adult, and was ruled for the death sentence. However, it was then overturned since he was 15.
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. Aside from the fact that death is not only a severe punishment because of the amount of pain and its irreversible finality, the
In the discussion of the 8th amendment, this paper will examine: the history of the 8th amendment, the interpretations made by courts regarding 8th, and how the 8th affects us today. The Amendment first was ratified in 1791 along with the nine other amendments to form the bill of rights. The bill of rights is used to “lists specific prohibitions on governmental power.” (“Bill of Rights”). By doing this, the government has less power to not make the citizens feel like that even the government has to follow some sort of procedure and would stabilize the power the government has from having either too much or too little.
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of the United is one of the shortest amendments, but its understanding has caused many debates. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (). The 1960s brought challenges to the fundamental legality of the death penalty. Before then, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments were interpreted as permitting the death penalty (Death Penalty Information Center, 2015). The eighth Amendment was born from the 1689 English Bill of Rights.
The 8th Amendment You and your friends are trick or treating on Halloween. One friend has the idea to go decorate your neighbor's house with toilet paper. Halfway through you're decorating a police car pulls up on the street. The police officer sentences you and your friends to life in prison.
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. Amendment VIII is significant because according to the legal system of the United States of America, an individual accused of a crime is “presumed innocent until proven guilty” and therefore, allowing disproportionate bail amounts to be set, would carry the risk of holding innocent people in custody, sometimes
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, stating “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” Although the Eighth Amendment is typically used in relation to the discussion of the death penalty or the evaluation of a long prison sentence for a nonviolent crime, in 2011 the Supreme Court used the cruel and unusual punishment portion of the amendment to assess Brown v. Plata, a case which determined whether or not the Eighth Amendment protection is violated if prisoners are deprived of basic sustenance. In the case of Brown v. Plata, 46,000 prisoners were to be released from a federal correction facility as a result of unprecedented overcrowding within a
Although, the term “cruel and unusual punishment” is constantly changing as society develops. For example when the amendment was first made cruel and unusual punishment at the time was being burned at the stake or being tortured. Today cruel and unusual punishment can include the death penalty and it was not until a little after the 1970s when the death penalty was considered a part of cruel and unusual punishment. The main use of the eighth amendment in court is for cruel and unusual punishment. Some cases that use the eighth amendment are the Roper v. Simmons, Hudson v. McMillian, and the Woodson v. North
“The law may be color-blind as it is written, but not as it is enforced.” Racial bias in the death penalty can be traced back to Furman v. Georgia, where handing down the death penalty sentence, unfairly, constituted as a cruel and unusual punishment, violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments. The reinstatement of the death penalty with its new sentencing guidelines, implemented by the Supreme Court, was to ensure that the death penalty sentence was used in a constitutional way. Despite these guidelines, somehow, racial bias has found a way to thrive. It has been documented that an individual is more likely to receive the death penalty in a case where the victim is White than in cases where the victim is Black.
The first objection is that the death penalty does not "provide a measure of moral desert" (Nathanson). For the second, Nathanson states "it does not provide an adequate criterion for determining appropriate levels of punishment." The main objection is an "eye for an eye", or Lex talionis, and I believe it fails to support equality retributivism and creates punishments that are morally unacceptable. There is no way that
In conclusion the idea that the death penalty should be abolished can be supported by many reasons that include extensive evidence. With the death penalty still established we are putting innocent people's lives at risk, spending millions, and continue with racial segregation. The idea that someone's opinion in court can decide the fate of another person is