Preview

Essay On 8th Amendment

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1087 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On 8th Amendment
Is Abiding by the 8th Amendment Constitutional? The government has laid out an array of civil rights to protect the liberties of the people with the induction of the United States Bill of Rights in 1791. The large majority of these amendments are appropriate and remain prominent in the modernized American governmental system but these basic human rights carry substantial controversy, the most arguable being the eighth. This amendment states that there shall be no cruel or unjust punishments inflicted upon any individual remaining in the borders of the nation, whether long term resident or briefly visited foreigner. This amendment receives most of its discussion through conversation regarding the death penalty to the detained. In many opinions, lethal injection is supported as fully …show more content…
Another form of execution is hanging which can take up to 40 minutes if the fall from the trap door is too short. This is because there is not enough force to cut off the air way taking longer for the inmate to go into critical condition. On the other hand, if the fall has too much force behind it, it can lead to a decapitation which is extremely disrespectful to the criminal and his/her family. The extended period for death and excruciating pain these methods hold fueled the unconstitutional marking by the people of the United States. The United States majority sees lethal injection to be a quicker, simplistic way to be put down. As stated in article, Lethal Injection: Is Lethal Injection a Constitutional Method of Execution?, “When it is done correctly, lethal injection offers a nearly painless form of execution, they say. That should be considered progress, they [supporters of lethal injection] argue. They express doubt that inmates suffer as much as they claim to. Supporters add that absolute painlessness is an unrealistic

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Second Amendment Essay

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    One of the most highly debated amendments of the United States Constitution is the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment has been disputed for hundreds of years on exactly of its exact true meaning. The United States Constitution wrote the Second Amendment as “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    8th Amendment Case Study

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages

    As the attorney for Joseph, the inmate in Louisiana, I’m writing to defend his 8th amendment rights. Joseph has committed murder, sentencing him to death. In his situation, he was attempting to kill himself but misfired murdering his roommate in the other room. This accident should not be punished by death as it wasn’t attempting. Joseph’s sad and unusual case mustn’t go to the worst stage of punishment and we plead for a life in prison instead of a lethal injection.…

    • 411 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Carr brothers should have been sentenced separately and given two different hearings. The Eighth Amendment may be unclear whether defendants must be given an individualized trial or not but the court’s Eighth Amendment cases have often insisted that defendants must be given “individualized sentencing” in order for the jury to find “an individualized determination” and decide whether the death penalty is appropriate. The issue is that the court has never insisted for defendants to be sentenced by themselves, at their own hearing, without any co-defendants present.…

    • 87 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This article discusses the Eighth Amendment, which states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” According to the child rape statute in Louisiana, the death penalty or life imprisonment is being administered to convicted pedophiles, as such; research on mental abnormality, and Forensic Psychology to assess the punishment. The author of this article is Brian Sellers, BA, University of North Carolina, and works in the Department of Criminal Justice. As a knowledgeable individual of the law, he explored the pros and cons whether the death penalty is appropriate for pedophiles, hence the many studies being conducted to support his point. This article will highlight…

    • 130 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This case deals with the eighth amendment and shows, the freedom to “ Be able to be heard before physical punishment is given.” In the end of this case the supreme court took a vote on who went with the “ Wright ” side or the “ Ingraham “ side. Ingraham lost with the vote of 5-4. The court says that “ Public school student could be paddled without being heard.’ The court says they ruled this was because “ The eighth amendment doesn’t contain the word “Criminal” so the court should not impose that limitation.…

    • 96 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution requires that the government impose no punishment that is “cruel and unusual.”1 One question that rises from this amendment is whether or not a sentence is unconstitutional if it is disproportional to the crime committed. In recent past, the United States Supreme Court has struggled with this issue and with coming to a consensus on how to view proportionality in the Eighth Amendment.2…

    • 3052 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    I am interested in the eighth amendment because it focuses on a very serious problem. Death…

    • 1280 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The sixteenth amendment in article I, section 8 gives congress the power to impose and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration. In article I, section 9 states that no direct could be imposed unless made proportion to the population based on census result, which means congress has to levy taxes based on the state population rather than individual. During the civil war the federal government imposed an income tax for individual to pay tax for war expenses; the supreme court found this to be unconstitutional based on the case of Pollock v. farmer’s Loan & trust co. (1895). After this case congress sent to the states the sixteenth amendment which gives congress the power to impose direct tax, that is, congress fixes the amount of income it wants to raise and levies each state with their proportionate share of the amount, a direct tax can be collected by federal officials or the states; state can collect their taxes in any way they want. In nutshell, a direct tax is collected only on persons or property. Indirect taxes are not being used in the constitution. It is simply a label for all duties, imposts and excises taken as a group, and is usually referred to any tax which is not direct. Though it has often been disputed that a uniform tax is one, which shows fundamental equality, the Supreme Court has constantly rejected this disagreement. The main purpose of allowing indirect taxes to be uniform is to secure the law of no taxation without representation.…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    8th amendment

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Eighth Amendment: It prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. In the case of Atkins v. Virginia, the facts brought to the court was that the defendant, Daryl Atkins was tried for capital murder and sentenced to death for the shooting of a victim named Eric Nesbitt. Atkins had been smoking and drinking all day before he decided to walk to a convenient store and hold Nesbitt at gun point, upon Daryl’s dissatisfaction with the money he took, he kidnaped Nesbitt, taking him to an ATM to with drawl 200 dollars, along with a friend named William Jones, in Nesbitt’s car. When Daryl was satisfied with the money taken, he further continued his violence by driving Nesbitt to an isolated area, forcing him out of the vehicle, and then shot Nesbitt eight times killing him.…

    • 340 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Let me take you back to one of the darkest days in American history. Monday April 5th, 2013 in Boston Massachusetts two men by the names of Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Anzorovich Tsarnaev partook in an act of terror on US soil. Two trash can bombs were planted nearby the finish line of the annual Boston Marathon, and the damage these bombs did will forever live in infamy. After the attack, a man hunt through the streets of Boston took place tracking down the men who had commit a mass crime and an act of pure evil. The first of the two brothers, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was shot when he was found; however, the second brother was later captured and taken into custody. Now here lies the question, what punishment is appropriate for someone who committed an act of terror, killing three and injuring over 200…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Eighth Amendment has stirred up many controversies with its many paths of interpretation, in that the U.S. amendments are written down on paper but sometimes not properly enforced. The 8th amendment is the one I favor least and is to be examined during this assignment. I take the double-minded position on the subject of the 8th Amendment of for and against this amendment. Is the Death Penalty an Effective Punishment? In my opinion yes, with at least one important respect, it simply cannot be argued that a killer, once executed, can ever kill again. The crime must fit the punishment in order to justify, and this punishment must not favor anyone on the foundation of color. If this were the case I would without a doubt totally agree with this amendment, however, Studies show that there are racial biases when the death penalty is carried out. Since the resumption of executions in the early 1980 's, 40 percent of those executed have been black. And more often than not blacks were more often executed than were whites without having their conviction reviewed by any higher court. The race of the victim and the defendant inevitably influences the decision to seek a death sentence. University of Iowa law professor David Baldus conducted an exhaustive criminal sentencing study in Georgia in the 1980s. He found that prosecutors sought the death penalty for 70% of black defendants with white victims, but only 15% of black defendants with black victims.…

    • 703 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The 1st and 5th Amendments are two of the most important ones from the Bill of Rights. Each one signifies an important piece of the United States in keeping American citizens safe and sound, and giving them a feeling of security and/or comfort. The 1st Amendment is the freedom of speech. This allows Americans to express their political, religious, and any other kind of idea of expression to others in a non-violent manner. Such as peaceful protests, religious expression, etc.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    8th Amendment

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The death penalty is an archaic procedure which operates on a rampant racial bias. Its use is not only tremendously expensive but also ineffective in complying to its purpose : deterring crime and controlling criminal behavior. The courts have struggled to define “ cruel and unusual,” because the term is ultimately vague and the definitions applied to terms like cruel and unusual change over time. Customs also change over time as societies viewpoints and ideologies adapt to into the future. An example of changes in the definition about the 8th amendment is seen in the landmark case of Weems vs United States (1910), where Weems was imprisoned for falsifying a public and official document and as a result was sentenced to 15 years. On top of his…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Essay On 1st Amendment

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages

    I am writing about the 1st amendment in this project.I am in the view of a lawmaker so I have to chose the best one for my prospective as of a law maker.And I thought the 1st amendment was the best. Also my team chose to Canada as our country where we are making are laws, but we only got to chose 5 amendments.We pick the 1st of course, the 3rd ,the 4th ,the 5th ,and the 8th.We have one teacher two lawmakers and 2 citizens in our group.To learn more keep on reading.…

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Eighth Amendment

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout American history many changes have occurred. However, throughout history The Bill of Rights has helped America have a strong constant foundation. James Madison created the Bill of Rights in 1788. They helped guide America through these changes but were never altered. Out of these ten amendments the eighth amendment has been upheld since it was created. The eighth amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” This means that when a person is arrested and being accused of a crime, the court are not allowed to set an unreasonable bail and are not allowed to impose harsh punishments. This amendment has been upheld throughout the years in social, economic and government situations.…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays