Imagine that last week your best friend was murdered. Now, you’re in court and the offender was ruled to have only 11 years of prison, instead of the death penalty in the eyes of the pubic. Would you agree that the punishment given was proportional and justified the crime offended? It certainly wouldn’t have back then, so why is it now? The 8th amendment have changed based on how our prosectives changed over time and so has our ways of interpreting the terms “ cruel and unusual”. What we would have considered as punishment was way different than what we thought was a punishment in the 1700. The way we used the term and the contexted we use it in now is different too. So, How has the definition of cruel and unusual changed over time and how
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"Cruel and unusual" to refer only to certain barbarous methods of punishment.”(Harvard Law Review). The 8th amendment was first written 1791. It was an amendment that had the power of eliminating all punishments that were labeled as barbarous or inhuman. Abolished punishments included the whipping post, public execution, and more. Originally the whole idea of these public punishments were to show the public an example of what would happen if laws were disobeyed. “Since prison in and of itself would not have been considered a barbaric form of punishment, even grossly disproportionate sentences would not implicate the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause.” (Harvard Law Review).When the 8th amendment was appealed it inforce punishments of incarnation, prison. Before the 8th amendment however, incarnation was never really used as a main punishment. It was used more for keeping prisoners in until it was time for their actual punishment. Now incarnation is one of our most popular punishment methods.“Fines were a critical part of the old system of punishment. Unlike the system of physical punishments that existed at the time, economic punishments could be made entirely proportional.”(Harvard Law Review). Fines are one of the only methods that we still use today because it was not considered and still isn’t considered a barbaric, or a cruel or unusual way of punishment. Just like how we pay fines now, offenders would pay off fines if they crime was
"Cruel and unusual" to refer only to certain barbarous methods of punishment.”(Harvard Law Review). The 8th amendment was first written 1791. It was an amendment that had the power of eliminating all punishments that were labeled as barbarous or inhuman. Abolished punishments included the whipping post, public execution, and more. Originally the whole idea of these public punishments were to show the public an example of what would happen if laws were disobeyed. “Since prison in and of itself would not have been considered a barbaric form of punishment, even grossly disproportionate sentences would not implicate the Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause.” (Harvard Law Review).When the 8th amendment was appealed it inforce punishments of incarnation, prison. Before the 8th amendment however, incarnation was never really used as a main punishment. It was used more for keeping prisoners in until it was time for their actual punishment. Now incarnation is one of our most popular punishment methods.“Fines were a critical part of the old system of punishment. Unlike the system of physical punishments that existed at the time, economic punishments could be made entirely proportional.”(Harvard Law Review). Fines are one of the only methods that we still use today because it was not considered and still isn’t considered a barbaric, or a cruel or unusual way of punishment. Just like how we pay fines now, offenders would pay off fines if they crime was