Analysis of the 8th Ammendment

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The bill of rights also known as the first ten amendments to the constitution was finally ratified in 1781. The purpose of the Bill of rights not only limits and acts as a type of restriction towards the power of the government but while doing so it benefits the citizens by securing their rights and reduces the considerable amount of federal authority. After seeing that the constitution did not meet the requirements of all states, the imposition of the Bill of rights reassured the people that their rights would not be violated, that the government would not oppress them and that it would protect them against tyranny. The 8th amendment found In the constitution protects against excessive bail, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishments. The cruel and unusual punishment clause meaning, any punishment inhuman and not proportionate to the actual crime committed can not be inflicted upon and will be seen as illegal. Anything demeaning to human dignity, in other words torture, anything irrationable and/or unreasonable is considered a restricted punishments. Over the course of the years the 8th amendment has brought up controversy over what can be considered unconstitutional and inhuman. The definition of cruel and unusual punishment can be perceived in different ways but our interpretation of it is extensively different from those of that time.

The origin and creation of this law can be dated back to 1205 to the British Magna Carta. The Magna Carta set down rights which later became the foundation for the English system of common law. The 8th amendment was extracted and was influenced greatly by the Magna Carta which stated “For a trivial offence, a free man shall be fined in proportion to the degree of his offence, and for seri...

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... violated the 8th amendment he claimed that they were unjust and should be denounced. After making this claim the supreme court agreed and said it “met the standards for cruel and unusual punishment” The reason this case prevailed over the rest was because the punishments that Weems had to endure were disproportionate to the actual crime. The Death penalty may have caused a lot of discussions since under certain circumstances it may violate the 8th amendment but after the Roper vs Simmons case the 8th amendment takes another turn. The Roper vs Simmons case another very influential trial talks about a seventeen year old who violently killed a woman by throwing her off a bridge. Since he was below the age of an adult The supreme court siding with Simmons and agree that punishing him would be unconstitutional and unjust since he was a minor when he committed the crime.

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