Originalists object to this approach for many reasons, including the fact that it is inconsistent with democratic principles and the rule of law. In Stack v. Boyle, 342 U.S. 1 (1951), the Supreme Court declared that a bail amount is "excessive" under the Eighth Amendment if it were "a figure higher than is reasonably calculated" to ensure the defendant's appearance at trial. . [9] Stinneford argues that the word “unusual” in the Eighth Amendment has a very different meaning in comparison to those who use originalism to interpret the U.S. Constitution. ", "A severe punishment that is clearly and totally rejected throughout society. Finally, are some modern methods of punishment – such as the extended use of solitary confinement, or the use of a three-drug “cocktail” to execute offenders – sufficiently “barbaric” to violate the Eighth Amendment? The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. The death penalty: The U.S. Supreme Court found that the death penalty, which was applied capriciously and on a racially discriminatory basis, violated the Eighth Amendment in Furman v. Georgia in 1972. After Hamilton’s death, many religious leaders began arguing for the abolition of dueling the way some people now seek the abolition of the death penalty. On February 20, 2019, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Timbs v. Indiana that the Excessive Fines Clause also applies to the states. On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks carried out against the United States would become the catalyst for at least two wars,…. (2) The Clause prohibits only barbaric methods of punishment, not disproportionate punishments. Some have not: in Godfrey v. Georgia, 446 U.S. 420 (1980), the Supreme Court overturned a sentence based upon a finding that a murder was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, and inhuman", as it deemed that any murder may be reasonably characterized in this manner. [7], England's declaration against "cruel and unusual punishments" was approved by Parliament in February 1689, and was read to King William III and his wife Queen Mary II on the following day. These powers include laws concerning schools, driver’s licenses, and marriages. [44] On October 1, 2008, the Court declined to reconsider its opinion in this case, but did amend the majority and dissenting opinions to acknowledge that federal law. "[24] He added with respect those who would belong to the new government under the new Constitution: "They are nowhere restrained from inventing the most cruel and unheard-of punishments, and annexing them to crimes; and there is no constitutional check on them, but that racks and gibbets may be amongst the most mild instruments of their discipline. by Bryan A. Stevenson and John F. Stinneford, Professor of Clinical Law, New York University School of Law, and Executive Director, Equal Justice Initiative, Professor of Law and Assistant Director, Criminal Justice Center, University of Florida Levin College of Law. More from the National Constitution Center, © Copyright 2020 National Constitution Center. Eventually, the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority. In Trop v. Dulles, 356 U.S. 86 (1958), the Supreme Court held that punishing a natural-born citizen for a crime by revoking his citizenship is unconstitutional, being "more primitive than torture" because it involved the "total destruction of the individual's status in organized society". Thus, they say, the framers wanted the amendment understood as it was written and ratified, instead of morphing as times change, and in any event legislators are more competent than judges to take the pulse of the public as to changing standards of decency.[69]. Third, does the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause prohibit the death penalty? In: Elliot, Jonathan, ed. They may introduce the practice of France, Spain, and Germany ...[14], Ultimately, Henry and Mason prevailed, and the Eighth Amendment was adopted. ", Ingraham v. Wright: Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact, What Is Double Jeopardy? If a punishment was acceptable in 1791, it must be acceptable today. . [I]t is contended that the fines imposed are so excessive as to constitute a taking of the defendant's property without due process of law. [8] Parliament then enacted the English Bill of Rights into law in December 1689. If a given punishment has been continuously used for a very long time, this is powerful evidence that multiple generations of Americans have considered it reasonable and just. In describing what constituted "gross disproportionality", the Court could not find any guidance from the history of the Excessive Fines Clause, and so relied on Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause case law: We must therefore rely on other considerations in deriving a constitutional excessiveness standard, and there are two that we find particularly relevant. For example, Professor John Stinneford asserts that the "evolving standards" test misinterprets the Eighth Amendment: The Framers of the Bill of Rights understood the word "unusual" to mean "contrary to long usage." According to the great treatise of the 1760s by William Blackstone entitled Commentaries on the Laws of England: [H]owever unlimited the power of the court may seem, it is far from being wholly arbitrary; but its discretion is regulated by law. Phrased differently, there is nothing in the Constitution that gives unelected judges the authority to overturn laws enacted by democratically elected legislatures, based on the judges’ own subjective ideas of what current “standards of decency” require.
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