8TH AMENDMENT

BAIL & CRUEL AND UNUSUAL

PUNISHMENT

Purposes of Bail Clause

• Prevents a court from setting bail so high a person can’t obtain it

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• Determined by two guidelines

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• 1. Can’t involve the unneces-sary and wanton infliction of pain: torture such as the follow-ing but not limited to - dragging, disemboweling, beheading, dissecting, burning alive

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

• 2. Punishment can’t be out of proportion to the crime: example: exp: person got life for $100 bad check after seven previous felonies (Solem v. Helm)

Death Penalty

• Outlawed in U.S. in 1972 in Furman v. GA by 5-4

• problem: application

Furman: Reasons against

• 1. Primarily against minorities

• 2. Used disproportionately against blacks, poor, unpopular

• 3. Blacks more likely to receive death penalty for rape

Furman: Reasons against

• 4. Wealthy rarely executed

• 5. Denies a person humanity

• 6. Unequally applied

• 7. Morally wrong

• 8. Most people opposed to it

Furman: Reasons against

• 9. Does not deter crime

• 10. Not more retributive than life in prison

• 11. An innocent person may be wrongly executed

Furman: Arguments for

• 1. Historical use

• 2. Society not opposed to it

• 3. Rare imposition shows discretion in application

• 4. Not opposed by Founding Fathers

Furman: Arguments for

• 5. Decision should be by legislatures of states not court

• 6. Discrimination less likely today in application

• 7. Proper retribution

• 8. Deters at least some people

Results

• 1. Limited to homicide

• 2. Penalty phase to trials

Capital Punishment

• States without capital punish-ment: AK, ME, MN, VT, HI, MA, ND, WV, IA, MI, RI, WI, AND DC

• States with it: rest plus U.S. and military

Death Row Inmates

Total #: 3549

Females: 48

States with d.p. no executions

• CT, KS, NH, NJ, NM, NY( law took effect on 01 Sept 95), OH, SD, TN, U.S. GOV’T, U.S. MILITARY

14th Amendment

• DUE PROCESS OF LAW

• FAIRNESS IN THE LEGAL SYSTEM

• POSSIBLY MOST WIDELY USED IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM