C H A P T E R 20 - Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights
SECTION 4 - Punishment – PART 1
8th Amendment – Punishment:
Punishment in the United States has been controversial to say the least. Various crimes have
had various punishments – including but not limited to:
•
Chain Gangs
•
Hard Labor
•
Castration
•
Life in Prison with no
Parole
•
3 Strikes and You’re
Out
•
…and the
Biggie….Capital
Punishment
Today –
Punishment CANNOT be Cruel and Unusual
8th Amendment - Bail and Preventative Detention:
________________ is a sum of money that the accused may be required to deposit with the
court as a guarantee that he or she will ______________________ in court.
•
Bail is established to allow the accused freedom until they are convicted and because the
accused may find it easier to prepare for trial on the outside
•
The Constitution ____________ ____________ _______________________ that all accused
persons are entitled to bail, just that the amount of the bail cannot be excessive.
8th Amendment - After an Arrest:
•
Once people are arrested, they have a _________________ and hear the _____________
against them.
•
The judge then determines, with the help of the prosecuting and defense attorneys, if bail will
be allowed.
8th Amendment - Bail and Preventive Detention:
____________________________ _________________________ is a law that allows federal
judges to order accused felons be held _____________________ ___________ if there is a
danger that the person will commit another crime if released (or hurt themselves).
•
Critics think preventive detention amounts to presuming the accused guilty. The SUPREME
COURT upheld that ___________________________ _________________ is
______________________ in the court case of the……..________________________
______________________ v. _________________________, 1987.
8th Amendment - Cruel and Unusual Punishment:
The 8th Amendment forbids “_________________ and ___________________ punishment.”
•
The 8th Amendment is intended to prevent, in the “Court’s Opinion”,____________________
tortures such as drawing and quartering and other excessively cruel punishments.
8th Amendment forbids “cruel and unusual punishment.” ….such as…..:
TYPES OF TORTURE USED WORLD WIDE AT VARIOUS POINTS IN HISTORY --- THESE NOT USED IN
THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE THEY ARE DEEMED TO BE CRUEL AN UNUSUAL but they are fun
to look at:…….Judas Cradle, Coffin, The Rat Torture, The Breast Ripper, The Head Crusher, Saw
Torture, The Virgin of Nuremberg, The Spanish Tickler, Garrotte Torture, Flagellation
(Whipping), The Wheel Torture (Breaking Wheel), Foot Roasting, Burning at the Stake,
Thumbscrew Torture, The Heretics Fork, Flaying Torture, Lead Sprinkler, Knee Splitter, The
Spanish Spider, Pillory Torture, Crocodile Tube, The Brank
8th Amendment - Medical Treatment:
The _______________________ __________________ ruled that defining narcotics addiction
as a crime, rather than an illness, WAS cruel and unusual in ________________________ v.
______________________________, _________.
In _____________________ v. _____________________, __________ , it also ruled that a
prison inmate COULD NOT be denied medical care.
Generally the Supreme Court has not found many punishments to be cruel and unusual. In U.S.
it should be “________________ and ____________________ ” according the Supreme Court.
The government today on supports ____________________ ___________________ executions.
8th Amendment - Capital Punishment (31 states have):
Capital punishment, is hotly debated
Can ONLY Be Used in ____________________ cases (loss of life cases)
(though in some states RAPE & KIDNAPPING are on the books as acceptable crimes to receive
the death penalty no court would ever let this happen)
The ______________________ _____________________ __________________ capital
punishment laws in the early 1970s with the ruling in ______________________ v.
___________________, ________.
WHY????? The court felt that the punishment was applied with odd discretion to only a few
convicts, most often African American or financially poor or both.
Despite these decisions, debate still surrounds the issue.
After the Furman v. Georgia ruling in 1972:
Convicted murderers across the country were ____-sentenced to __________ in
_______________ rather than ________________.
___________________ _______________
(is a well known example of this)
8th Amendment …Welcome Back:
However, in __________, the Court held for the first time that a new law which re-instituted the
death penalty WAS NOT unconstitutional.
•
The new law provided for a ________-____________________ _____________ process.
•
Stage ONE trial would determine ___________ or _______________________ , and
•
Stage TWO a separate hearing usually heard by a different jury would decide whether the
_____________ ______________________ was ________________________ in the case.
DEATH PENALTY…
…….Unconstitutional against the ___________________ ___________ as of recent
…….It has been deemed or labeled as a ___________________ act and/or _____________
since most who have been executed have been poor and/or African American