Amendment Eight
Marwa Sultani
Amendment In Constitution
Excessive bail shall not be requirement, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Historical Backround
It makes it unlawful for congress to establish, or for judges to improve, excessive fines on people convicted of crimes, although there is no limit to what excessive really means. The most controversial part today is that cruel and unusual punishments shall not be inflicted upon people because of the fifth amendments, but after the court naming the eighth amendment unlawful, the states had to satisfy the court that they impose the death penalty fairly. To this day the court is still debating.
Amendment In My Words
Whatever crime you have committed should resemble your punishment. You should not have to pay an unreasonable amount of money for bail or any expensive fines. Also, the government has no right to give anyone a cruel and unusual punishment.
Supreme Court Case
Gomez v.s. California (1992)
Backround Of Case
The Supreme Court refused to strike down California's use of gas chambers for executions, but John Paul Stephens and Harry A. Blackmun opposed the use of gas chambers because of its violation of the eighth amendment.
Court's Decision And Its Rationale
The court refused to outlaw the gas chamber and they did not want gas chambers to stop being used. The courts rationale for ruling it not unlawful was because they thought the gas chamber executions were not "torture or a lingering death".
Citations
"Eighth Amendment." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 3. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 482-484. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
"Eighth Amendment." Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2008. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
"Eighth Amendment." West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Ed. Shirelle Phelps and Jeffrey Lehman. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 78-82. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.