The eighth amendment guards against the infliction of cruel and unusual punishment by the state. In regards to capital punishment, the eighth amendment becomes even clearer. The argument is that it somewhat reserves a safeguard for the capital defendants in sentencing and should not be used against a defendant. The court determined in cases that cannot be punishable by the death penalty, then the defendant that are part of the case are not obviously necessary to be protected by the eighth amendment. By ruling that the death penalty cannot be deliberate of a defendant, the court decided that it violates the eighth amendment.
