THE QUESTION:
What is the eighth amendment?
THE QUOTE:
“Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted..”
The Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution is the one known for prohibiting torture. However, that’s not all it does. This amendment has three different parts all related to when someone is arrested.
The first part mentioned excessive bail. The bail is the money that must be paid for someone to be let out of jail pending their trial. Under British rule, some corrupt judges would “post” (set the amount) extremely high bail, knowing the colonists imprisoned could not afford this. This was a tactic to crush morale and prevent people from being allowed a quick and fair trial. In the jails, they would be under the supervision and control of the British. That is why the Framers sought to prevent this.
The second clause is related to the first. The excessive fines pertain only to federal fines for things such as speeding tickets or other miscellaneous ones. British officials and officers could issue fines with a cost much higher than what it should have been. These fines would be issued in order to put dissenters in debt, forcing them to serve their country to pay it off. The Framers were against this tactic as some of them were victims of it under British rule. That is why they argued against excessive fines as a form of punishment.
The last section is a very important one. Cruel and unusual punishment has been defined and its meaning changed since our country started. Many agree that all or most forms of torture fall into that category, thus preventing the government from doing that. However, places such as Guantanamo Bay (outside of US jurisdiction) allow the government to do it. Additionally, some have argued the death penalty falls under “cruel punishment”. Advocates for criminal justice reform cite it as a reason to why the death penalty should be abolished. Overall, the eighth amendment sets out to protect the arrested people and limit the power of the government to sanction its citizens.
This is what the eighth amendment is and how it checks the government’s powers. As always, I’m Joseph Pool, your Poolitician and thank you for plunging into politics!
