| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
In England, sheriffs originally determined whether or not to grant bail to criminal suspects. Since they tended to exploit their power, Parliament passed a statute in 1275 whereby bailable and non-bailable offenses were defined. The King's judges often subverted the provisions of the law. It was held that an individual may be held without bail upon the Sovereign's command. Eventually, the Petition of Right of 1628 argued that the King did not have such authority. Later, technicalities in the law were exploited to keep the accused imprisoned without bail even where the offenses were bailable; such loopholes were for the most part closed by the Habeas Corpus Act 1677 . Thereafter, judges were compelled to set bail, but they often required impracticable amounts. Finally, the English Bill of Rights ( 1689) held that "excessive bail ought not to be required." Nevertheless, the Bill did not abolish the distinction between bailable and non-bailable offenses. Thus, the Eighth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that bail may be denied where the charges are sufficiently serious. The Supreme Court has also permitted "preventetive" detention without bail. It held in United States v. Salerno ( 1987), the Supreme Court held that the only limitation imposed by the bail clause is that "the government's proposed conditions of release or detention not be 'excessive' in light of the perceived evil."
The protection against excessive fines applies only in respect of the government. Punitive damages awarded in civil trials are not governed by the clause, as the Supreme Court held in Browning-Ferris Industries v. Kelco Disposal, Inc. ( 1989). The Supreme Court has held that the wealth of the defendant need not be considered when deciding the excessiveness of a fine; neither has the Court ever explicitly set a maximum figure for fines.
The infliction of certain punishments has been deemed totally forbidden by the constitution. Trop v. Dulles ( 1958Events January January 1 Treaty of Rome founding the EU is implemented January 4 Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4 1957) January 8 14 year old Bobby Fischer wins the United States Chess Championship January 18 Armed Lumbee Nat) held that depriving a natural born citizen of citizenship is unconstitutional, being "more primitive than torture" because it involved the "total destruction of the individual's status in organized society". In Wilkerson v. Utah ( 1878Events January Cleopatra's Needle arrives in London January 9 Humbert I becomes King of Italy January 23 Disraeli orders British fleet to Dardanelles January 28 The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States. January 31 Turk), the Supreme Court commented that drawing and quarteringDrawing and quartering was part of the penalty anciently ordained in England for treason. It is considered by many to be the epitome of "cruel" punishment and was reserved for traitors because treason was deemed more heinous than murder and other capital, public dissecting, burning alive and embowelling would constitute cruel and unusual punishment. One may accurately suggest that torture is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.
It is often asserted that capital punishmentCapital punishment also referred to as the death penalty is the judicially ordered execution of a prisoner as a punishment for a serious crime, often called a capital offence or a capital crime''. Some jurisdictions that practice capital punishment restri is unconstitutional. Until the latter part of the twentieth century, the Supreme Court upheld capital punishment. Furman v. GeorgiaFurman v. Georgia 408 U. 238 ( 1972) was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas death sentences for rape, had the sam ( 19721972 is a leap year starting on Saturday (click link for calendar). Events January events January 2 the Pierre Hotel Heist Six men rob the safety deposit boxes of the Pierre Hotel in New York City. Loot is at least $4 million January 5 President of the Un) was a landmark case that reversed the trend. Potter StewartPotter Stewart ( January 23, 1915 December 7, 1985) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Stewart was born in Jackson, Michigan while his family was on vacation. His father, James G. Stewart, was a prominent Republican from Cincinna suggested that the penalty was "wantonly and freakishly imposed," comparing the controverted death sentence to "being struck by lightning." Only two Justices felt that capital punishment itself was unconstitutional; William J. BrennanWilliam Joseph Brennan ( April 25, 1906 July 24, 1997) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He believed in the "essential dignity and worth of each individual," his words from a 1987 speech. Brennan was the second of eight c held that it "does not comport with human dignity"; Thurgood Marshall found that it was "morally unacceptable" and "excessive." Several states then proceeded to craft death penalty statutes in such a manner as to answer Justice Stewart's objections. Some states passed laws imposing mandatory death penalties in certain cases; the Supreme Court found these laws unconstitutional. Other statutes specifying factors for courts to use in making their decisions have been upheld. Such factors, however, may not be extremely vague. Thus, in Godfrey v. Georgia ( 1980), the Supreme Court overturned a sentence based upon a finding that a murder was "outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible, and inhuman," as it deemed that any murder may be reasonably characterized in this manner. Similarly, in Maynard v. Cartwright ( 1988), the Court found that an "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" standard was too vague. The Court has further held that capital punishment may only be imposed if the defendant kills, or attempts to kill, the victim.
Weems v. United States ( 1910) held that a punishment is cruel and unusual if it is excessive. The Weems case, however, dealt with a sentence that mandated "hard and painful labor", shackling for the duration of incarceration, and permanent civil disabilities. In Coker v. Georgia ( 1977), the Court declared that the death penalty may not be imposed for rape of an adult female and, by implication, for any crime other than murder.
Traditionally, the length of a prison sentence was not subject to scrutiny under the clause, regardless of the crime for which the sentence was imposed. It was not until the case of Solem v. Helm ( 1983) that the Supreme Court held that incarceration, standing alone, could constitute cruel and unusual punishment if it was "disproportionate" in duration with respect to the offense. The Court outlined three factors that were to be considered in determining if the sentence is excessive: "(i) the gravity of the offense and the harshness of the penalty; (ii) the sentences imposed on other criminals in the same jurisdiction; and (iii) the sentences imposed for commission of the same crime in other jurisdictions." The Court held that under the circumstances of the case before it and the factors to be considered, a sentence of life imprisonment without parole for cashing a $100 check on a closed account was cruel and unusual punishment.