Eighth Amendments Cruel And Unusual Punishment example essay topic

The Eighth Amendment The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, as well as the setting of excessive bail or the imposition of excessive fines. However, it has also been deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States (according to the Eighth Amendment) to inflict physical damage on students in a school environment for the purpose of discipline in most circumstances. The 8th Amendment stipulates that bail shall not be excessive. This is unclear as to whether or not there is a constitutional right to bail, or only prohibits excessive bail, if it is to be granted. The Supreme Court has never directly addressed this interpretation problem, because federal law has always guaranteed that privilege in all non-capital cases (Compton's). Bail furthers the presumption of innocence until guilt is absolutely proven, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

If it weren't for bail, the accused suspect would virtually be serving a sentence for a crime he or she has not been convicted of committing. Excessive bail has the same effect. The idea behind bail is to make sure the accused is present during the trial. Ifone's bail is, in fact, excessive, the amount is set higher than is reasonable.

Logically, bail is usually not set for an amount greater than the maximum monetary sentence for the crime with which the defendant is being charged. (Draper 80) The most widely known aspect of the eighth amendment is the fact that it prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. The stand for "cruel and unusual " fluctuates, because it all is dependent upon social issues, standards, and personal beliefs. However, there are many generalizations that remain very clear, no matter what the situation. Cruel and unusual punishment is perceived as punishment that causes "an unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain". Punishments that have been declared entirely unconstitutional without question by the US Supreme Court include torture and loss of citizenship.

(Garraty 155) This interpretation is demonstrated by the Supreme Court's rulings in the case of Gregg vs. Georgia, in 1976. In this case the court upheld the constitutionality of the death penalty, defending statutes that guide judges and juries in the decision to issue the death sentence. The Court did, however, state that the mandatory use of the death penalty would be prohibited under the Eighth Amendments cruel and unusual punishment. The defendant in this case, Gregg, had been convicted on two counts of armed robbery and two counts of murder. The jury was instructed by the trial judge, who was following Georgia state law, to return with either a decision of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Justice Byron stated in his opinion that Gregg had failed in his burden of showing that the Georgia Supreme Court had not done all it could to prevent discriminatory practices in the forming of his sentence.

This decision became the first time the Court stated that 'punishment of death does not invariably violate the Constitution. ' (Bernstein 21) The punishment also cannot be "grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime charged, nor can it violate the convicted individual's dignity. InRummell vs. Estelle, it was upheld that it did not constitute 'cruel and unusual punishment' to impose a life sentence, under a recidivist statute, upon a defendant who had been convicted, successively, of fraudulent use of a credit card to obtain $80 worth of goods or services, passing a forged check in the amount of $28.36, and obtaining $120.75 by false pretenses. We said that 'one could argue without fear of contradiction by any decision of this Court that for crimes as felonies, that is, as punishable by significant terms of imprisonment in a state penitentiary, the length of the sentence actually imposed is purely a matter of legislative prerogative". We specifically rejected the proposition asserted by the dissent, that unconstitutional dis proportionality could be established by weighing three factors. (Sundquist 230) The first factor to be considered is the gravity of the offense compared to severity of the penalty.

The second is penalties imposed within the same jurisdiction for similar crimes. The third item to be considered is penalties imposed in other jurisdictions for the same offense. (231) As far as capital punishment is concerned, the Eighth Amendment has been used to declare the death penalty invalid in numerous cases. Mandatory death penalties have repeatedly been found to violate the Eighth Amendment, and were first found to be unconstitutional in the cases of Roberts vs. Louisiana and Woodson vs. North Carolina. Arbitrary death sentences with no established criteria for application also violate the Eighth Amendment, as was ruled in the case of Furman vs. Georgia. In Furman vs. Georgia three cases had been brought to the Supreme Court concerning the death penalty and the racial biases present in the selection process.

Three juries had convicted and imposed the death penalty on their accused without any guidelines to go by in their decision. This case (Furman vs. Georgia) represents the first time the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty. The dissenting Justices argued that the courts had no right to challenge legislative judgment on the effectiveness and justice of punishments. The majority however held that the death penalty was cruel and unusual punishment, which violated the Eighth Amendment. Justice Thurgood Marshall went onto attack the penalty more directly stating, 'it is excessive, unnecessary, and offensive to contemporary values.

' (Garraty 157). One of the least well known or discussed protections the Eighth Amendment provides is its forbiddance of corporal punishment in schools. This means that, unless a teacher or school employee feels that his own person, another person, or the property of the school is in danger, he cannot use physical force as punishment while in a school environment. This obviously is not directly stated in the Eighth Amendment, but it has been interpreted by the Supreme Court that corporal punishment in schools is unconstitutional. (Draper 82) However, as always, the Supreme Court has the final word in each specific case.

It is their job to look at "contemporary standards" concerning punishments, as well as social issues, history, and jury determinations when deciding upon the constitutionality of all questionable penalties (83). The Eighth Amendment (as it has been interpreted by the US Supreme Court) protects Americans from cruel and unusual punishment, excessive bails and fines, and unnecessary physical chastisement in schools. However, whether a sentence is cruel and unusual or a fine is excessive continually remains to be determined by the Supreme Court.

Bibliography

Bernstein, Richard, and Jerome A gel. Amending America. New York: Random House, Inc, 1993.
Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. New York: Compton's New Media, Inc., 1995.
Draper, Thomas. Human Rights. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1982.
Garraty, John A. Quarrels That Have Shaped the Constitution. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Sundquist, James L. Constitutional Reform and Effective Government. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution, 1986.