The Bill of Rights - Eighth Amendment
In honor of the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights and week 8, another criminal defense attorney favorite: the Eighth Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
The Eighth Amendment’s short and sweet language is some of the most complicated and has spawned the most litigation in the Supreme Court. The questions of what is excessive, cruel, or unusual have spawned a great deal of litigation and the Court’s decisions on these matters have evolved over time as our society has evolved and changed. Things that were one thought perfectly fine are now considered cruel and unconscionable. This area of the law will continue to change as our society changes what we think constitutes cruelty.
Further reading:
Kahler v. Kansas, in which the Court answered the question: “May a state abolish the insanity defense without violating the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments?” Answer: Yes.
Madison v. Alabama, in which the Court addressed the questions: “(1) Does the Eighth Amendment and the Court’s jurisprudence prohibit a state from executing a prisoner whose mental disability leaves him with no memory of the commission of the capital offense? and (2) Does the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment preclude a state from executing a prisoner who suffers from severe cognitive dysfunction such that he cannot remember the crime for which he was convicted or understand the circumstances of his scheduled execution?” The Court found that: “The Eighth Amendment does not prohibit a state from executing a prisoner who cannot remember committing his crime, but it does prohibit executing a prisoner who cannot rationally understand the reasons for his execution, whether that inability is due to psychosis or dementia.”
Timbs v. Indiana, in which the Court addressed the question: “Has the Eighth Amendment’s excessive fines clause been incorporated against the states under the Fourteenth Amendment?” Answer: Yes.
Miller v. Alabama, in which the Court answered the question: “Does the imposition of a life-without-parole sentence on a fourteen-year-old child violate the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments' prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment?” Answer: Yes.