1. The Eighth Amendment prohibits punishments that are no longer acceptable to civilized society and referred to as "cruel and unusual punishments." Discuss the history and reasoning of this Amendment and comment on the views of the Supreme Court and conclude the response with court case examples and their decisions.. 1. The U.S. Supreme Court has identified cruel and unusual punishment into two categories: barbaric punishments and disproportionate crimes. Barbaric punishments are punishments that society does not see as acceptable today. When the Eighth Amendment was adopted these barbaric punishments were crucifixion, torturing, burning at the stake, etc. Over a hundred years after the Bill of Rights was adopted none of the cases involving …show more content…
In 1958 in the Trop v. Dulles case the Court adopted the evolving standards test to determine whether sentences go against cruel and unusual punishment. This case marked the beginning of a maturing society. In 1944, Albert Trop a United States Army private escaped a military stockade in Casablanca, Morocco. Trop had just been confined because of a disciplinary violation. The following day after escaping Trop willingly surrendered. Trop was convicted of desertion and sentenced to three years of hard labor where he lost all of his pay and was given an honorable discharge. In 1952, Albert Trop applied for a passport where he was rejected. This rejection was on the base that he had lost his citizenship because of his wartime desertion and conviction. The Court decided that Trop’s punishment was cruel and unusual. The evolving standards of decency was applied to the Court in Thompson v. Oklahoma in 1988. This approach banned the execution of juveniles under sixteen years old. The following year however they ruled that executing juvenile offenders between sixteen and eighteen did not go against the evolution of society. In 2005, the Courts ruled that the Eighth and the Fourteenth Amendment forbid the execution of juvenile offenders who were under eighteen at the time of their
The 4th amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In the context of the 4th amendment, a search is considered or happens, “when a governmental employee or agent of the government violates an individual's reasonable expectation of privacy.” (Ryan) An example of a search under the 4th amendment is forms of searches such as stip searches or visual body searches but they have to be supported by a probable cause and be conducted in a reasonable matter. A seizure of an individual under the 4th amendment means or happens , “when the police's conduct would communicate to a reasonable person, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the encounter, that the person is not free to ignore the police presence and leave at his will.”
The most important issue that must be addressed in this case is the principle of the “evolving standards of decency” and the uses of a national consensus. The “evolving standards of decency” were developed by Trop v. Dulles and have been implemented in one way or another in all of the precedents dealing with “cruel and unusual” punishment. It is important to treat these principles as an important aspect of “cruel and unusual” punishment jurisprudence, therefore turning from these set of principles would be foolish and a disregard for every precedent. However, it is important to acknowledge that each case satisfies the standards by using a different method; some use the presence or lack of state legislature as a judgment of consensus while others look at foreign countries.
In the year of 1865, the 13th Amendment was passed by Congress. This Amendment formally abolished slavery within the United states. This ratification was the final consent to considering the Three-Fifths compromise obsolete; A compromise that was relevant for many years reforming the idea of how the slave count should be considered into the population of the United States. Not only did this Amendment shatter the idea of giving slave three-fifths of a count toward the population, this was the first formal movement towards giving slaves an identity.
Before, during, and long after the Civil War blacks were discriminated against in almost every form of life. They had to fight and be patient to be accepted as equals among their white counterparts; this process took form over a long period of time, and after many failures, blacks were truly equal in the eyes of the government. The thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments which were passed in the late 1860’s were supposed to bring political, social, and economic equality for the blacks; however, this was not the case, while in some facets of life blacks obtained more freedoms they had to wait many years after these amendments were passed to be fully equal to whites. The thirteenth amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
Far too long in this great country of ours have the big corporations taken advantage of the people at the bottom. Unfortunately, because of our laissez-faire oriented feelings this leaves millions of Americans who need to rely on government programs in order to survive. With this in mind the 28th Amendment will tackle the problem of big corporations head on with as little government intervention as possible. This Amendment will be composed of three parts initially the first two focused completely on the corporations themselves while the last part will deal with the individual so that he/
The court case I have selected is the Roper vs. Simmons case. Christopher Simmons (17) came up with the idea to murder Shirley Cook. Simmons brought this brought this idea to his two friends Charles Benjamin (15) and John Tessmer (16) and
In the late 1700’s, James Madison wrote the first Ten Amendments that are listed in the United States Constitution. The Bill of Rights were written to ensure American citizens that they have freedoms and rights that the government can 't infringe. Out of the Ten Amendments, I believe that the First and Eighth Amendment are the most significant. The First Amendment grants us freedom of speech, religion, press, petition, and for people to assemble peaceably.
First, Freedom from Cruel and Unusual Punishments protects us from unacceptable actions due to the suffering or pain it inflicts on the person. “The U.S. Government has taken into custody individuals… held for months in solitary confinement without charge.” “Eroding Liberties”(“ACLV”). If you’re held in custody that doesn’t give anyone the right to punish you or hurt you to get information out of a witness or suspect. “Were subjected to a pattern of physical and verbal abuse.”
The first amendment of the United States Constitution is a crucial topic that guarantees fundamental rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and association. The first amendment protects the freedom of association, which emcompasses an individual’s right to join and leave groups as they please, and for the group to take collective action to pursue the common interest of the individuals in the group. The history of the freedom of association can be traced back to the founding of the United States, where the right of association was seen as a necessary component of democracy. The freedom of association can be explored into its history, the basis of the topic, and the interpretation of the courts, especially in cases; Gitlow v. New York, NAACP
The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states.
The first amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens’ rights to; freedom of the press, peaceful assembly, religious freedom, the right to petition the government, and the right to free speech. The Constitution itself asserts: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” Interpreting the first amendment has always been a subject for debate, and many citizens of the United States are unaware of what is actually protected by the first amendment, specifically in regards to freedom of speech. This lack
The Second Amendment protects the right of people to keep and bear arms. This amendment was a controversial among different people in the government. It was between letting the people keep their weapons or to not let the people keep their weapons. This amendment was important to the framers of the Constitution because it provided the country with a well-regulated militia. The Second Amendment states "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’s Not working out. By:Taija Jones. The 8th amendment says “Excessive bail shall not be required, Nor excessive fines imposed, Nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” . With that being said if the 8th amendment applies for cruel punishments of death penalties then why is it still happening.
Angela Davis Once said “Well for one, The 13th Amendment to the constitution of the U.S. which abolished slavery, did not abolish slavery for those convicted of a crime.” Although the amendment was desperately needed it made more problems for the U.S.The thirteenth amendment was about abolishing slavery. Many people had different opinions about this amendment. The amendment affected our nation dramatically. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution says that, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. By Bryan Stevenson. Spiegel & Grau, 2015. Pp. 368.