- Compare an inhumane procedure with disproportionate punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
- Identify the most prevalent method of execution pursuant to the death penalty.
- Ascertain crime(s) that merit capital punishment.
- Identify three classifications of criminal defendants who cannot be constitutionally punished by execution.
- Define three-strikes laws, and ascertain if they constitute cruel and unusual punishment pursuant t o the Eighth Amendment.
- Ascertain the constitutionality of sentencing enhancements under the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial.
The prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment comes from theEighth Amendment, which states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” State constitutions often have similar provisions. 1 Although the ban on cruel and unusual punishment relates directly to sentencing, which is a criminal procedure issue, criminal statutes mandating various penalties can be held unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment just like statutes offending the due process clause, so a brief discussion is relevant to this chapter. Another facet of excessive punishment is a criminal sentencing enhancement that is based o n facts not found beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury. This has been held to violate the Sixth Amendment, which states, “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a…trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed.”
In this section, three issues are analyzed and discussed: the infliction of cruel punishment, a criminal sentence that is too severe, and a criminal sentence that is invalid under the right to a jury trial.
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