...The eighth amend to the constitution is featured in the bill of rights and ensures all American citizens are protected from excessive bail, fines, and cruel or unusual punishment. The bill was ratified in 1791 and is plainly stated,“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”However, the Wording of this document Allows for its rules to be interpreted in enforcement. The amendment does not have a definite meaning of cruel and unusual punishment it is easy to go around these rules. I believe we should establish a clear definition of cruel or unusual punishment. Why should we do this what are the real consequences of leaving it as it is? Civilized society? Although we do not and poor medieval torture...
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...Unjust Justice: Juveniles Serving Life Without Parole The 14th amendment of Constitution of the United States grants every American Citizen the right of due process of the law. This right is being denied juveniles sentenced to “life without parole”. Recent Supreme Court rulings have held that “life without parole” is cruel and unjust punishment for those juveniles sentenced for non-homicidal crimes, because of limited capacity. Life without parole is essentially cruel and unjust punishment for all juveniles sentenced, regardless of crime committed. This paper will delve into the recent changes in juvenile sentencing of “life without parole” initiated by May 2010 decision of the court in Graham v. Florida and the unconstitutionally of life without parole for juveniles. It will briefly discuss the 14th amendment which involves due process and the 8th amendment which involves cruel and unjust punishment. It will argue that juveniles should not be sentenced to life without parole regardless of their particular crime. The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution declares, ... “nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. Individuals are protected by due process when the state is required to follow the law of the land. Due process is violated when a person is harmed when the government does not follow the intent and letter of...
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...fourteenth amendment. Capital punishment has been used for awhile now, in fact, there are 31 states right now such as: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and many others still using capital punishment. This must come to an end. The eighth amendment states that “ Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” A fairly recent court case Kennedy v. Louisiana, June 25, 2008 violates the 8th amendment. The background information about this case is that, Patrick Kennedy was sentenced to death for raping a child. Now, the child didn’t die from being raped. The court decision definitely violates the 8th amendment because, Kennedy didn’t kill the poor child, he simply raped her. Not that I’m saying raping a child is ethical, but, the child’s life wasn’t taken away, just sexually assaulted is what happened. The court took it to a whole other level by sentencing him to death. Why go out of your way to kill him, there’s certainly other ways to punish Kennedy, but taking his...
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...and that at the end revenge could only lead to negative effects. The rebuttal would have made a good point if capital punishment was meant for revenge, it is meant to punish those who did unforgivable acts. The criminal is getting punished for his actions like everyone else in society does when the law is broken. Of course there must be proportionality between criminal and punishment making the punishment for murdering someone or multiple people a more serious punishment. Many people against Capital punishment would also argue that the death penalty is unconstitutional, saying that it violates our rights that our country is based upon. Our Constitution never clearly stated anything about capital punishment. People can manipulate the amendments however they...
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...The Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments to the Constitution that grant certain freedoms and liberties to the citizens of the United States. The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments, such as the tortures that have been used throughout history. Many citizens are conflicted about whether the Eighth Amendment is still relevant. The Eighth Amendment is still relevant today, but does need some revision based on the unfair treatment from King George and the more current ways the Eighth Amendment is being used. To commence, the Founding Fathers introduced the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution because of the unfair punishments and treatment from the British Army and King George. During the pre-Revolutionary...
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...Penalty, also known as Capital Punishment, has been a topic that has been debated about whether it should be legal or if it should be banned for years. The Death Penalty is the punishment of execution, ordered to someone who commited a capital crime, like murder. There are many reasons as to why the Death Penalty should be legal but there are just as many reasons for why it should be banned. Death penalty should be legal because it gives closure to families that have been affected by those who have been convicted for a capital crime. In the article “Reform, Don't Repeal, the Death Penalty,” written by The Los Angeles...
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...rights are necessary to maintaining a particular level of care for inmates, for it forces the correctional staff to be more hands on in their approach. This way they may also receive the treatment necessary for proper rehabilitation, as well as the tools for reintegration into society. It seems prisoner rights have played an essential role in the evolution of the prison system; it has had both positive and negative effects on inmates, and when looking at the key elements in obtaining those rights it is important to recognize the 8th amendment and section 1983 of civil rights litigation. Rights for prisoners can be a great benefit to the individual inmate should they choose to take advantage of them. While in the past, the system may have worked against inmates wanting to have their issues heard and a fair review of their case, the present era offers various courses of legal action for inmates to take. Prisoners are now able to speak out against cruel and unusual punishment. They can file lawsuits against prison guards for misconduct, as well as against other inmates, and they can file appeals on their conviction. Negative aspects of prisoner rights are usually felt by the system itself or those working in the system like correctional staff. Since inmates can file lawsuits at relatively no cost to them, guards now have to be extremely careful and conscientious of how they...
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...Betty Waltermire Critical Issues in Criminal Justice JUS-250 April 10, 2014 Cruel and Unusual Punishment or Effective Control of Sex Crimes In the Bill of Rights we look to the Eighth Amendment to read; Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. Excessive or disproportionate to the offense committed. A male who has been charged with and convicted of multiple sexual crimes, is going to do his time, get out of prison and offend again. To impose upon him to be chemically or surgically castrated would this procedure stop or prevent the sexual crimes from occurring. In China and the ancient world the rulers kept many wives and concubines so they would have an heir. To protect them from being impregnated by another male they used eunuchs to guard the wives and concubines. They were appointed to guard the royal household and through daily contact with the family they gained immense power (Chinese Eunuchs). According to legend castration has been used to improve the effectiveness of soldiers. The rulers would castrate the men by removing the penis and leaving the testicles. This would cause them enormous sexual frustration and they would become violent and aggressive, which was perfect for the battlefield. Chemical castration is done by injection of the FDA approved birth control drug Depo Provera to lower the testosterone levels in men, thereby reducing...
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...Imagine a man in your room watching you in the dark of the night for 8 days. In the short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe the calculated madman who tells a story of how he kills the old man in his bedroom. It is told in first person by the narrator killer. He has an obsession with the man’s “eye of a vulture.” At the beginning of the story he’s trying to convince us that he is not mad, but how wise and cautious he was when he killed the old man. Based on the evidence presented in the 8th Amendment of the Death Penalty the main character should be sentenced to life in prison with physcotic care because as stated by evidence in the text he commited murder and he was mentally ill. To begin the main character should be sentenced to 20 years in prison because he commited murder. The narrator describes, “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. ” (Poe, 1843) When he first conceives the idea to kill the old man, he describes that the old man had never wronged him, it was his “Evil Eye.” Soon after, he describes how cautiously and with foresight he...
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...The Amendments We as (American) citizens were given a series of 10 amendments at the birth of our country called the Bill of Rights. These amendments were instituted on September 17, 1787 when the U.S. Constitution was signed. In my opinion there are 3 amendments that should be respected to the fullest. These 3 include: The Second, Eighth, and Ninth Amendment respectively. I feel that these 3 are the most important in our constitution today. Primarily, is the Second Amendment, or our right to bear arms. This amendment, in my opinion, is the most important. It is stated 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.” It enumerates our right to keep and bear arms. This protects U.S from a Tyrannical government as it levels out the power between the citizens and the government. Also, this allows for people to use arms for self-defense and entertainment. Next, is the 8th Amendment. This amendment is written as: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” For example you cannot get life in prison for not paying your parking ticket, or your bail cannot be set at a rate at which it’s almost impossible for someone to pay. This is part of a person(s) having the right to a fair and just trial....
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...The Bill of Rights is the first of ten amendments to the Constitution that grant certain freedoms and liberties to the citizens of the United States. The Eighth Amendment protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishments, such as the tortures that have been used throughout history. Many citizens are conflicted on whether the Eighth Amendment is still relevant. The Eighth Amendment is still relevant today, but does need some revision based on the unfair treatment from King George and the more current ways the Eighth Amendment is being used. To commence, the Founding Fathers introduced the Eighth Amendment into the Constitution because of the unfair punishments and treatment from the British Army and King George. During the pre-Revolutionary...
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...Jacoby Greenwood Crime is all around us. wherever we look, we find crime and criminals. Criminals have become a part of our lives whether we like it or not. This does not mean we should let them darken society. Getting the rightly accused to a punishment is important. Some criminals commit a crime because they have no other option, some do it for fun and for their own benefit. I do not approve of the death penalty for everybody. A person who stole from a store, is definitely not a deserving person for the death penalty, But, a serial killer, who kills people just because he wants to, definitely deserves to be removed from society. The death penalty should be pursued in the United States in order to eliminate horrible people from the world. Not everyone deserves to die, but some people do. If someone killed one of your family members or someone who meant the world to you, do you think they deserve to live? The 5 different forms of execution in the united states are Lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas, firing squad, and hanging. Lethal injection is the most common. A lot of people see both sides of the death penalty and some people are unsure on how they think about it. Many people support the death penalty, while others wish for the death penalty to be abolished,...
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...Running Head: The Death Penalty The Death Penalty Berenice Paz Kaplan College The Death Penalty, also known as Capital Punishment, has been a controversial issue for many years. Some people believe that it is wrong and should be abolished, while others believe that capital punishment should continue to be enforced. Arguments for this are issues of deterrence, the question of whether it’s excessive cruelty, questions of equability, and the public attitudes. In this paper I will explain viewpoints of proponents and opponents of the death penalty. Capital punishment in the United States has been around for many, many years. It was commonly used in the history of the criminal justice system. The methods of executions in history were cruel and unusual. Some of the methods included boiling the guilty in oil, burning to death, hanging them, strangling, stoning, and impaling. 1968 was the first year where the death penalty was not exercised in the United States. In 1976, Georgia, Florida, and Texas were the first three states to uphold the death penalty statues. Later, capital punishment was reinstated to other states as well. Since then there have been debates with this topic. Abolitionists believe that it is morally wrong. They may also believe that it has no benefits to our society. On the other hand, proponents feel that it is a deterrent and can save many innocent lives by getting rid of the murderers that can possibly take other lives. During the 1970s, Issac...
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...ever established. It laid the ground work for the future of this nation and through its influential power, has allowed this country to progress. The constitution was drafted in September 17, 1787 and enacted in March 4, 1789. Being over 200 years old, the Constitution has underwent 17 amendments. The first ten amendments are the Bill of Rights, with a 17 amendments making for a total of 27 amendments. These changes were due to the shifts of view and values of our society. Although the founders of the constitution could not foretell the future of our country, there was sense of understanding that the constitution was a much needed piece legislation to create a balance within the law. As we noted above, the constitution has evolved and will continue evolve over time. Jack Goldsmith, author of The Terror Presidency: Law and Judgment Inside the Bush and Administration and Robert Dahl, author of How Democratic is the American Constitution?, both have a working knowledge of the constitution, but in their various writings, have indicated that the constitution is not so democratic as it was intended to be. The Constitution should be respected by all individuals, and its administration and interpretation should be fair and just. Jack Goldsmith served as legal adviser to the General Counsel of the Department of Defense for the Bush administration from 2002 until 2004. In October 2003 he was appointed as a United States Assistant Attorney General, leading the Office of Legal Counsel in the...
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...aggravating circumstances present. I believe life is sacred. It cheapens the life of an innocent murder victim to say that society has no right to keep the murderer from ever killing again. In my view, society has not only the right, but the duty to act in self defense to protect the innocent" says a New York Attorney. Many people agree with him as well. They feel that if someone feels like its ok to take anthers life then their life can be taken as well for punishment. People also feel that they pay for what these criminals do. To hold an inmate in prison, on death row or not, its about $30,600 per year that comes straight out of our taxes. So in reality people feel that we pay for the mistakes of these criminals when some of them should be held to capital punishment for the crimes that they have committed. People also believe that in the long run the death penalty helps saves innocent lives. Repeat murders from the same killer are very common when the criminal is not sentenced to life or death in prison. Finally people argue that the death penalty is needed for closure for the friends and families of the murdered. They deserve to have justice brought to the criminal...
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