T H E 8 T H A M E N D M E N T – C R U E L & U N U S U A L P U N I S H M E N TS U P R E M E C O U R T D E C I S I O N S

BUSINESS LAW

8TH AMENDMENT

• Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted

• Why written in to Bill of Rights?

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

• The Coffin Torture• Victims placed inside• Hung outside in elements• Often made too small or

too large to make more uncomfortable• For serious crimes, victim

kept inside, under the sun with animals eating his or her flesh

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

• The Brazen Bull• Invented in ancient

Greece• Victims placed inside,

fire lit underneath, slowly burned to death• Tubes inserted later to

make victim’s screams sound like an angry ox

• Dunking• Mainly reserved for

supposed witches• Victim tied to a chair which

was elevated or lowered by the torturer

• When victim was about to pass out, chair was elevated

• Victim was intermittently submerged for many hours until information obtained or victim died

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

• The Iron Maiden• 7 feet tall• Victim tied inside, when

doors shut, victim penetrated by spikes, but not on any vital organs• Completely dark and

soundless inside• Could take many hours,

even days, for death

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

• The Thumb Screw• Victim’s fingers placed

inside the instrument and slowly crushed as the torturer turned the handle on top.

• Used to extract confessions as it was both painful and long lasting.

• Could also be used to crush toes.

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

• The Rack• Most painful form of medieval

torture• Wooden frame with ropes

fixed to top and bottom.• Torturer turned the handles

causing the ropes to pull the victim’s arms.

• Eventually, bones were dislocated.

• Some devices had spikes to penetrate victim’s back, injuring spine.

MEDIEVAL TORTURE DEVICES

8TH AMENDMENT

• Abolished cruel & unusual punishment• Trop v. Dulles (1958)• “Evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of

a maturing society”

• Court determines what punishments are not inherently cruel, but also excessively disproportionate to the crime committed• Exercise – Determining What Cruel and Unusual

Punishment Looks Like: A Hairy Situation• Rasta Inmates Spend Decade in Isolation for Dreadlock H

air

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

DEATH PENALTY

Discussion for Death Penalty Abolitionists:If you oppose the death penalty, imagine that you are confronted by the families, friends, and loved ones of hundreds of people killed in a terrorist attack. Some of them want the death penalty for the people convicted of mass murder in the attack. Try to convince them that the death penalty is wrong or ineffective. What do you say? Do you lose any conviction that you are right in opposing the death penalty?

Discussion for Death Penalty Supporters:If you favor the death penalty, under what circumstances would you be willing to personally administer it? For example, would you be able to administer the death penalty to a convicted criminal who grew up in an abusive home and later in life murdered his parents while they were asleep? - Would you be willing to inject the prisoner with the lethal substance?- Would you pull the switch on the

electric chair?- Would you release the poison in to the

gas chamber?- Would you pull the floor from beneath

the person to be hanged/- Would you participate as a shooter in a

firing squad?

DEATH PENALTY CASE LAW

• 1988 Thompson v. Oklahoma• Unconstitutional to put to death juveniles under 16

• 1989 Stanford v. Kentucky• Constitutional to put to death juveniles 16 and older

• 1989 Penry v. Lynaugh• Constitutional to put to death mentally retarded

• 2002 Atkins v. Virginia• Unconstitutional to put to death mentally retarded

• 2004 Roper v. Simmon (5-4 decision)• Unconstitutional to put to death juveniles under 18

DEATH PENALTY EXERCISE

• Divide in to 3 groups:• For the death penalty• Against the death penalty• Unsure

• Discuss DC Sniper case• should Malvo be sentenced to death?

DEATH PENALTY TIMELINE

Case Name Case NameCase NameCase NameCase Name

Year YearYearYearYear

Holding HoldingHoldingHoldingHolding

Overrules

DEATH PENALTY TIMELINE

Case Name Case NameCase NameCase NameCase Name

Year YearYearYearYear

Holding HoldingHoldingHoldingHolding

Overrules

Thompson v. Oklahoma

1988

Executions of juveniles < 16 unconstitutional

Stanford v. Kentucky

1989

Executions of juveniles 16+ constitutional

Penry v. Lynaugh

1989

Executions of mentally retarded constitutional

Atkins v. Virginia

2002

Executions of mentally retarded unconstitutional

Roper v. Simmons

2004

Executions of juveniles < 18 unconstitutional

LIFE IMPRISONMENT

• Life sentence• Murder• High treason• Violent cases of drug dealing or human trafficking• Aggravated cases of burglary or robbery resulting in death or grievous bodily

harm• “3 Strikes Law”

• Indeterminate Life Sentence• 15 years – life• 20 years – life

• Determinate Life Sentence• Life without the possibility of parole

• Amnesty or Parole• Considered after serving 2/3 of required statutory 20 consecutive years of good

behavior• Varies per state• Not available in Federal Cases (unless granted by President)

DEATH PENALTY VS. LIFE IMPRISONMENT

• Sentenced to death vs. sentenced to die in prison?• How should apply to minors?• Exercise – Discovering Justice • Information about Cases taken from: Equal Justice Initiative’s

Publication – “Cruel and Usual: Sentencing 13- and 14-Year Old Children to Die in Prison”

DEATH IN PRISONAshley Jones – AlabamaAshley Jones is the only girl in Alabama sentenced to death in prison for an offense when she was 14 years old. From the time she was an infant, Ashley was terrorized by abusive and violent adults. Her addicted mother abandoned Ashley in crack houses while she was still in diapers and on several occasions threatened her at gunpoint. Her father assaulted her, resulting in a hospitalization. Her stepfather sexually assaulted her when she was 11. Relentless violence in her home left Ashley depressed, traumatized, and suicidal. At 14, Ashley tried to escape the violence and abuse by running away with an older boyfriend who shot and killed her grandfather and aunt. Her grandmother and sister, who were injured during the offense, want Ashley to come home. But Alabama’s mandatory sentencing law does not recognize mitigation, mercy, or the abusive dysfunction that lead to her crime. Instead, it condemns Ashley to die in prison despite the fact that today, at 22, she has matured into a remarkable young woman who is incredibly bright and promising.

DEATH IN PRISON

Quantel Lotts – MissouriQuantel Lotts spent the first seven years of his life in a turbulent, violent St. Louis neighborhood. His mother sold and used crack in their house. He saw his uncle shot by drug dealers in his front yard. Quantel, who is African American, was removed from his mother’s home and lived in three different foster homes before moving with his father to rural, predominately white St. Francois County. Quantel’s father moved his three children into the home of a white woman, with whom he developed a relationship, and her children from a prior marriage. The step-siblings became very close. Quantel loved his stepbrother Michael and spent a lot of time with him. On the day of the crime, however, the two boys got into an argument. Michael was stabbed with a knife and died. Despite objections from the victim’s mother, Quantel was tried and convicted as an adult. Without any consideration of his age, psychological state, or family background, and against Michael’s mother’s wishes, Quantel was sentenced to die in prison.

DEATH IN PRISON

Antonio Nuñez – CaliforniaThe month after his 13th birthday, Antonio Nuñez was riding a bicycle near his home in South Central L.A. when he was shot multiple times. His brother, just 14 years old, ran to help him and was shot in the head and killed. Antonio left his neighborhood to escape the violence that claimed his brother’s life, but a probation officer threatened his mother if he did not return to South Central. Antonio returned to L.A. with his family and, two weeks later, got into a car with two men nearly twice his age who picked him up at a party. One of the men later claimed to be a kidnap victim. When their car was chased by the police and shots were fired, Antonio was arrested and charged, along with the 27-year-old driver, with aggravated kidnaping. No one was injured, but 14-year-old Antonio was sentenced to die in prison. He isthe only child in the country known to be serving a death in prison sentence for his involvement, at age 14, in a single incident where no one was injured.

DEATH IN PRISON

Joe Sullivan – FloridaJoe Sullivan is one of only two people in thenation known to have been sentenced to die inprison for a non-homicide offense at age 13. Aseverely mentally disabled boy, Joe was blamed by an older co-defendant for a sexual battery that was allegedly committed when they broke into a home together. Despite Joe’s young age and disabilities, his father dropped him off at police headquarters to face questioning alone after hearing about the allegations. At trial, Joe was represented by an attorney who has since been suspended from the practice of law. Joe, who continues to assert his innocence, is 31 and confined to a wheelchair.

LIFE IMPRISONMENT WITHOUT PAROLE

• Assignment• Sullivan v. Florida• Graham v. Florida• What did the Supreme Court hold in these cases?• Do you think this decision will eventually lead the Court to

strike down life imprisonment without parole for ALL crimes committed by juveniles? Why or why not? In your answer, explain how this case is similar to and different from the other Supreme Court Eighth Amendment cases? In your explanation, apply at least 3 concepts from the Supreme Court cases related to the Eighth Amendment.

• You will need to Google/research one of the other USSC cases for details to include in your paper.

• 2 pages, double spaced