The 8th Amendment
Cruel and Unusual Punishments
The 8th Amendment:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Court Case (Wallace Wilkerson vs. United States)
Wallace Wilkerson, a man convicted of murder and sentenced to death by firing squad, argued that this method was a form of cruel and unusual punishment. He appealed the territory's decision to execute him this way.
The Court denied the appeal- it did not have torture before death.
Scenario:
President Obama was convicted of capital murder. When in court, the judge sentenced him to death by lethal injection. Before Obama passed, he received several puffs of Anastasia, and then was given multiple shots of barbiturate then died. The next morning, Michelle Obama went to court saying that her husband's death was inhumane. The judge denied her case however, claiming that the Anastasia numbed the preliminary pain, so this was not a violation of the 8th Amendment.