Eighth Amendment.
Krystin Jaramillo.
Text of amendment :
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Amendment in my words.
The crime that you have should fit the punishment, you shouldn't have to suffer a lot of lifetime in jail or a lot of fines for a small crime.
Historical background of the eighth amendment.
It was put in place to prevent the government from excessively punishing defendants and criminals before and after trial.
Name of court case and year:
united states vs. Bajakajian. (1998)
Background Of The Case:
Hosep Krikor Bajakajian decided to go to cyprus in 1994 to pay some of his debts off, He was then put on trial because he did not give the amount of $357, 144 to the customs officers.
Courts Decision:
The law states that people who take $10,000 in leaving the country you must honestly declare the amount of money to concerned authorities , even though there was a violation Justice Clarence Thomas said forfeiting the amount violated the excessive fine clause justice argued that the penalty was totally "disproportional" to his offence.
citations:
"Eighth Amendment." Constitutional Amendments: From Freedom of Speech to Flag Burning. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2008. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.