"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

~ The U.S. Constitution, Article VII

"The Eighth Amendment forbids a sentencing scheme that mandates life in prison without possibility of parole for juvenile offenders."

~ Justice Elena Kagan

"The Eighth Amendment’s protection of dignity reflects the Nation we have been, the Nation we are, and the Nation we aspire to be."

~ Justice Anthony Kennedy

IBagley, Pat. “Utah Firing Squad.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 2015.

"The Eighth Amendment forbids 'cruel and unusual' methods of capital punishment but does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death."

~ Justice Neil Gorsuch, 2019

Nott, Dan. “Cruel and Unusual.” Dan Nott Cartoons and Illustrations.

Granlund, Dave. “Lethal Drug Shortage; Tennessee Reverts to Electric Chair.”

"It is sometimes necessary to hang a man... But are we in the future to prevented from inflicting these punishments because they are cruel? If a more lenient mode of correcting vice and deterring others from the commission of it would be invented, it would be very prudent in the Legislature to adopt it; but until we have some security that this will be done, we ought not to be restrained from making necessary laws by any declaration of this kind."

~ Samuel Livermore, 1789

IS THE DEATH PENALTY CRUEL AND UNUSUAL?

“It has been assumed in our decisions that punishment by death is not cruel, unless the manner of execution can be said to be inhuman and barbarous...
It would seem to be incontestable that the death penalty inflicted on one defendant is ‘unusual’ if it discriminates against him by reason of his race, religion, wealth, social position, or class.”

- William O. Douglas, Furman v. Georgia

1791

Eighth Amendment ratified in 1791, and states, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

-U.S. Constitution. Amend. VIII

1972

"In Furman v. Georgia the Court invalidated existing death penalty laws because they constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment... The Court also reasoned that the existing laws terminated life in exchange for marginal contributions to society."

1976

"In Gregg v. Georgia the Court refused to expand Furman. The Court held the death penalty was not per se unconstitutional as it could serve the social purposes of retribution and deterrence. Specifically, the Court upheld Georgia’s new capital sentencing procedures, reasoning that the Georgia rules reduced the problem of arbitrary application as seen in earlier statutes."

1977

"In Coker v. Georgia the U.S. Supreme Court held that a penalty must be proportional to the crime; otherwise, the punishment violates the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishments."

“Death Penalty.” Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, www.law.cornell.edu/wex/death_penalty.

2002

"In Atkins v. Virginia the Supreme Court determined that executing mentally retarded criminals violates the ban on "cruel and unusual punishments" because their mental handicap lessens the severity of the crime and therefore renders the penalty as disproportionately severe."

2005

"In Roper v. Simmons the Supreme Court invalidated the death penalty for all juvenile offenders. The majority opinion pointed to teenagers' lack of maturity and responsibility, greater vulnerability to negative influences, and incomplete character development. The Court concluded that juvenile offenders assume diminished culpability."

THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT

IS THE DEATH PENALTY CRUEL AND UNUSUAL?